Kiss Me
by FairiesInOurHearts
Summary: Stories based on "kiss prompts" on tumblr. Various pairings, but mostly Jerza and Gruvia. (Others include Nalu, Edo Gruvia, Edo Jerza, Gajevy, Gajuvia broship, Lyvia and Lyredy.)
1. Last kiss - Jerza

**A/N: The stories I'll be posting in this collection are all based on the "kiss prompts" I saw on tumblr. There's 25 of them, and I'll try to write all, considering I'm now on summer vacation (yay!). Updates won't be regular, but I'll post a story when I write it. Lengths of the stories will also vary, depending on the inspiration.**

 **I'll be posting these stories on my tumblr account too, which is thegreatprocrastinatorme, if anyone's wondering. :) I tried making a link in my profile description, but for some reason it won't work... I'll try to fix it.**

 **Now, onto the first story of the collection! I hope you enjoy! :)**

Pairing: Jerza

Prompt: Last kiss

 _-He lived a lifetime of happiness.-_

Word count: 649

* * *

Lying on a bed in a small room was a man, his white hair and wrinkled face the signs of his old age. Next to his bed sat an elderly woman, whose hair was tied in a bun – her once vibrant scarlet tresses were now a faded red, but they were still as beautiful as ever to her lover. Erza watched over Jellal with worried eyes, knowing that his end was nearing. She spent the last few weeks taking care of him, but in vain – his state was worsening, and the doctors and healers all confirmed her fears.

He was dying.

Jellal stirred, waking up from his sleep, and as soon as his eyes opened up, they focused on the woman in front of him. His lips automatically spread into a gentle smile, and Erza returned the smile as well. He slowly reached out his hand, and she grabbed it with both of hers, securing it between them.

"Erza…", he croaked, and a cough escaped his mouth. She worriedly frowned.

"Yes, Jellal? Do you need something? Should I get you anything?", Erza asked, but as soon as she saw his solemn expression and his sad smile, she _knew_. He was saying his goodbye. Erza willed the tears away, knowing that in his last moments, Jellal would rather see her smile. She gently squeezed his hand, letting him know that she was ready.

"Erza… I can't say that I lead a life with no regrets.", he slowly said, his weakness evident in his voice. "There are… many things… I wish I'd done differently. Or not at all. But-", he said, but was interrupted by a coughing fit. Erza quickly took a glass of water and offered it to Jellal, who gratefully accepted it. After drinking the water, Jellal continued.

"…But I had, the incredible luck of meeting you, and… Falling in love."

At this, Erza chuckled a bit, and Jellal smiled, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Our love… was a tough one, but we made it. I never believed that I would die old, with _you_ by my side, but here I am.", he said, his voice shaking, and Erza could no longer fight the tears. "I thank whichever higher force, which led me to you, and kept me by your side. You… have given me so much… I can only hope I gave you at least half of it."

"You gave me more than you think.", Erza answered, unable to stop sobbing. "Jellal, you had given me _everything_ I wished for. Love, happiness, family… Yes, we had some bad times, but whenever I look at our children, our grandchildren, I know, everything was worth it. We were worth the sacrifice.", she said, and Jellal started crying as well. With his free, shaking hand, he reached out to wipe the tears from his wife's face.

"Tell them… I love them all.", he whispered, and Erza nodded. "Tell our friends and family, how much they all meant to me, and that I… I… I'm so grateful for them. Each and every one.", he finished, and Erza kissed the hand he brought to her cheek. Jellal's breathing had become heavy and forced, and they both knew what was coming. With the remains of strength he had, Jellal whispered:

"I love you, Erza."

She choked out an _"I know"_ and _"Me too"_ , before finally collecting herself enough for her to utter those words back to him.

"I love you, Jellal."

They both smiled at each other, wide, radiating smiles full of happiness in this bittersweet moment they shared, and slowly, Erza lowered herself to steal one last kiss from Jellal.

When she pulled away, she saw him smiling contently with his eyes closed.

An hour later, Jellal Fernandez passed away in his sleep, in his own house, with the woman he loved more than the world by his side.


	2. Exhausted parents kiss - Gruvia

**A/N: Here's the next story! Hope you like it! :)**

Pairing: Gruvia

Prompt: Exhausted parents kiss

 _-_ _Having a baby in the house didn't make sleeping easy.-_

Word count: 803

* * *

A baby's cry resonated through the small family house, and two parents immediately awoke from their sleep so they could tend to their newborn son. Juvia was already on her feet while Gray tried to blink away the drowsiness, rubbing his eyes and yawning while slowly getting up.

"Don't.", Juvia told him, putting on her slippers. "Juvia will go check up on him. Gray-sama can go back to sleep.", she said, and then she yawned as well, tired from the lack of sleep – having a baby in the house made it tough to steal even a little bit of sleep.

"No, I'm goin'", Gray mumbled, still somewhere in between dreams and consciousness. "'S unfair to make you do everything. I'm gonna help.", he said and then joined Juvia by the door, and Juvia tiredly smiled at him, grateful that he was offering to help her, even though he didn't necessary have to.

In the small room next to his parents' bedroom, little blue haired boy sobbed and whimpered. His dark eyes searched for the familiar blurs that represented his parents - or the ones who would feed him, clean him and put him back to sleep. Also snuggle and kiss him. Juvia was the first one to arrive by the baby's crib, and she slowly picked him up while shushing him and rocking him back and forth. Gray was right behind her.

"Is he hungry? Does he need a change of diapers?", he asked, now completely awake.

"Juvia doesn't think so. She fed him about two hours ago, and he doesn't smell. Something probably woke him up and now he's fussy.", Juvia answered, lulling her little boy back to sleep. She lovingly smiled and talked to him, trying to calm him down. Gray silently watched over the scene, and after a few moments, he tapped her shoulder and she turned around, only to see him holding out his hands.

"Give him to me.", he said, and Juvia furrowed her brows in confusion. Gray, realizing this, sighed and slowly took away the baby from Juvia's hands, making her pout. He chuckled at her reaction but then focused on the little human in his hands.

"Relax, I won't hurt him. I'm his father after all.", Gray joked, and Juvia's pout only became bigger. Even though he couldn't see it, because he was too busy looking at their child, Gray could imagine the cute expression on her face and that made him smile.

"Juvia knows that, but-"

"When it's time for feeding, you feed him, 'cause you know, you're the mom. When it's time for bathing, youbathe him because you're a water mage and all. When it's time for diaper change we both do it, but I'd like to help with something else other than cleaning his poop.", Gray said, and a small smile made its way on Juvia's face, and it spread even wider with Gray's next words.

Gently, while looking at their son with a soft smile on his face, Gray lovingly whispered what he had already said.

"I'm his dad, after all."

"That's why, little guy", he changed his expression to that of fake anger and annoyance, "you should do me and mom a favor and go back to sleep, so the two of us could return to sleeping, as well. Mommy is exhausted and daddy could also use a rest. Okay?", he asked, and his son looked at him with his big black eyes, the ones he inherited from him. Juvia smiled at the sight and walked over to Gray so she could wrap her arms around his torso while he kept on lulling their baby back to sleep. After a few minutes, he finally fell asleep, so Gray returned him to his crib and then the freshly-baked parents stood to gaze at him, marveling at their little wonder.

"He's a handful.", Gray whispered, and Juvia nodded her head.

"Just like his father.", she joked and winked at Gray, and he playfully hit her shoulder, then hugged her waist as she lay her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but he's a nice handful. I love him.", he smiled and then kissed the top of Juvia's head. She turned around and returned the smile, and then she tip toed so she could kiss him. They pulled away then and leaned on each other, watching over their little bundle of joy.

"Juvia… wouldn't trade him for the world.", she silently said, and Gray hummed, before both of them returned to their room and lay in each other's arms, letting the realm of dreams take them over.

Of course, only three hours later, the little one woke them up again, and with a groan and a sigh, the exhausted parents got up to tend to his needs once more. Good thing they loved him.


	3. Awkward kiss - Nalu

**A/N: This drabble is set in the same AU as my three previous stories: It's not just a hat, It's not just a present and Made in heaven. I sure don't know how to write a long story, but it seems I've grown attached to this AU of mine... ;)**

Pairing: Nalu

Prompt: Awkward kiss

 _-_ _They expected something better, but at least it served its purpose.-_

Word count: 1440

* * *

"C'mon, Lisanna, spin it."

The small room was full of people who sat down at a circle in the center. Boys and girls were huddled together, waiting for the bottle to spin and the next challenge. Cana drank her fifth can of beer that evening, and was urging Lisanna to hurry up and decide the challenge, then spin the bottle to decide who would be the sacrificial lamb – because nothing good comes out the moment Lisanna starts listening to Cana.

"Wait a bit, Cana, I still haven't thought of what should the ones who get chosen by the bottle do!", Lisanna said, still thinking. Next to her, Lucy and Levy were sweating profusely, afraid of what the white haired girl would think up. She was usually nice, but with games like this… You can see the drunken brunette's influence.

"Geez, can't you hurry it up a bit?", Natsu asked, as impatient as always, and Gray just shook his head next to him.

"You can't sit still for a minute? Talk about having your pants on fire.", he smugly said, trying to tick Natsu off – which he succeeded.

"Wanna go, you Stripper?"

"You bet, Ash Brain!"

"Go, Gray-sama!", Juvia cheered as always, and Gray blushed a bit.

"Oy, if the two of you're gonna fight, I'm gonna fight too!", Gajeel said and got up from his spot next to Juvia, knocking the girl's head into Cana's lap. The brunette laughed loudly and helped Juvia up, then pulled her by her waist.

"Getting a bit impatient tonight, are we?", she teased, and Juvia blushed profusely (as did Lucy and Levy, and Gray was checking his nose), trying to get out of Cana's grasp, unsuccessfully.

"Cana-saaaan!"

"U-uh, Cana, w-won't you let Juvia-chan go?", Levy weakly said, making Cana click her tongue, but she still let go of Juvia and started drinking more beer.

"Lisanna, did you think of anything?", Lucy asked, hoping for something innocent. Of course, her hopes were all crushed when a devilish smile appeared on Lisanna's face, and a satisfied grin on Cana's. Everyone in the room felt a chill run down their spines, because they knew – there was no escape.

"Why, Lucy, I just thought of something great.", Lisanna said, still wearing the smile that meant trouble, and Lucy gulped. Lisanna eyed everyone in the room, as if scanning them, and then took the bottle in her hands.

"The ones the bottle shows…", she started, playing with the plastic bottle, "… must, without exception… Kiss each other on the lips."

The room broke out in gasps, but everyone had their own reason – Juvia thought of this as a chance to kiss her Gray-sama, Gray was afraid of what Juvia would think about this challenge, Cana gasped in a fake surprise because she already knew what Lisanna was going to say, and Lucy was scared of the possibilities. Or, more precisely, scared that this wasn't just another scheme her friends made in order to get her together with a certain pink-haired guy.

As many times before, Lucy was spot on. Not that everyone besides Cana and Lisanna knew that.

The two made a deal, even before everyone gathered, that they would play "spin the bottle" and that one of them would pose a challenge like that in order to get Natsu and Lucy together (also to embarrass them a little). Of course, there was a chance that it wouldn't be the two of them that would be picked by the bottle, but that's why they both practiced. Cana and also Lisanna were very sure in their ability to set the bottle the way they should.

The two of them shared a secret glance and smirked, before Lisanna said _"Here I go!"_ , and spun the bottle.

" _Not too strongly",_ she thought while preparing _, "or the bottle would end up pointing to Gray and Juvia. Not that she would mind it, but we're on a different mission now. Also try not to get Gray and anyone else but Juvia. She'd make a mess."_

As the bottle spun, everyone held their breaths in anticipation and fear. The bottle turned round and round and round, until it finally stopped and…

…pointed at the blonde girl and pink-haired boy.

Cana and Lisanna screamed mentally and turned around to wink at each other, while Levy squeaked. Juvia pouted a bit, since she wanted to kiss Gray, but then she smirked and looked over to Gajeel, who was smirking as well. Gray watched with amusement as Natsu froze on the spot beside him, and Lucy was changing colors like a semaphore.

"Come on, guys. The bottle pointed at you.", Lisanna said, faking innocence, at everyone sniggered at the pair.

"B-but… B-b-but!", Lucy tried to complain, but Levy grabbed her by the shoulders and evilly smirked.

"Now, now, Lu-chan… She said _without exception_ …", she whispered in Lucy's ear, and Juvia grinned.

"That's right, Lucy-san… You have to do it.", she said, gaining the same expression as Levy, and then Gajeel and Gray joined in.

"C'mon, Salamander.", Gajeel grinned.

"Unless you're too scared to do it.", Gray taunted, and for Natsu, that was it.

"Scared? I'll show you who's scared!", he said and then leaned towards Lucy, grabbed her by the collar and smashed his lips against her.

And everyone watched in satisfaction until… They realized how awkward the kiss was. Both Natsu and Lucy had their eyes open and they were staring at each other, their faces were pressed up at a weird angle, and they both just froze, unmoving. They pulled away after only a few seconds, and everyone was looking at them with disappointment.

"Natsu…", Lisanna mumbled. "I believed you were a better kisser than that."

"Me too.", Gray added, and Gajeel, Juvia, Cana and Levy nodded.

"Oy, you wanna have a piece of-", Natsu started, but then looked at Lucy who was still very red in the face and wide eyed. He turned beet red as well, and started scratching the back of his neck, while clearing his throat. The rest of the gang moved farther away from the duo (though they were still studying them carefully), and let Natsu and Lucy talk this out. The room was painted in silence, except for the occasional gulp that could be heard when Cana took a sip of her beer, or the unidentified noise Gray produced when Juvia hugged his arm.

"…So…", Natsu started, clearing his throat. He still couldn't look Lucy in the eye and she was no better.

"S-so…", she repeated, while looking at the floor beneath her.

Lisanna narrowed her eyes at them, feeling a bit frustrated. She had a bet to win against her sister, for crying out loud, and those two weren't helping her at all! Or at least that's what she thought, before Natsu said something that surprised everyone.

"Uh, d'you wanna… I don't know, grab a bite or something? I… I think we need to talk and… Well, I don't wanna talk in front of _them_.", he leaned his head in the group's direction, and they collectively said _"Hey!"_ , but were ignored when Lucy suddenly raised her head, still very red, and energetically nodded her head. Natsu smiled, and those behind them cheered as he grabbed Lucy's hand and pulled her up, then out of the room. Cana and Lisanna winked at each other and then giggled, with Levy and Juvia joining them in. Gray and Gajeel shook their heads in defeat, knowing not to mess with the girls, then bro fisted each other.

"Man, with that excuse for a kiss, I thought we wouldn't be gettin' anywhere!", Cana exclaimed, and Lisanna nodded next to her.

"Well, Juvia thinks they were sort of cute.", the blue haired girl tried to defend them, but Gajeel scoffed next to her.

"They looked like two fish tryin' to kiss."

"Gajeel-kun!"

"Now, now, let's not fight, but celebrate the union of our two friends!", Lisanna reprimanded, and everyone raised their glasses (cans in Cana's case) and cheered, though Gray mumbled something like _"They're not getting married..."_

The group continued to chit-chat among themselves, and Cana conspiratorially whispered to Lisanna.

"So, who's our next target?"

Instead of answering, Lisanna pointed her chin at Levy and Gajeel who were now bickering over something stupid, as usual. Juvia caught the interaction between the two girls and smirked, coming closer to them.

"Oh, Juvia is joining in on _this_ one."

As the three girls devilishly smiled, Gray could only sweat and thank God they left the topic of him and Juvia alone for a while, while the two unknowing victims felt a chill run down their spines.


	4. Drunk kiss - Edo Gruvia

**A/N: Edo ships are my guilty pleasure so chances are, I'll write at least one of this prompts for them. Here's the first one. :)**

Pairing: Edo Gruvia

Prompt: Drunk kiss

 _-Too bad she won't remember anything in the morning - or maybe that's a good thing?-_

Word count: 1577

* * *

"Ju-Juvia-chan…", a raven haired man stuttered, his face red.

" _What?_ ", a blue haired woman asked annoyed, her face flushed as well, but because of a different reason.

"I-It's not that I'm not happy that you're willingly standing so close to me, or, well, _clinging_ to me, b-but, can I ask, what brought that on?", Gray asked, while two voices in his head were fighting: one was simply _delighted_ that his Juvia-chan was initiating a skin to skin contact (or in his case, skin to one of the middle layers of clothing because the upper ones were discarded by none other than _her_ ), while the other, saner part of his mind kept telling him that this was _wrong_ , that he was a gentleman, and that Juvia was very obviously intoxicated and had close to no control over her actions.

"Hmmm? What, aren't you the one always clingin' t'me? Can't I cling t'you once a while?", she slurred, and tried to shoot him an annoyed look, but because of her state, she merely managed to _squint_ at him.

Gray honestly wanted to start gushing over this adorable version of Juvia, but his sense of responsibility won over his fanboy side, and he decided he needed to drop Juvia off at her home. Honestly, he was starting to feel like a chaperon – he just returned from the palace, where he left the surprisingly very drunk king (in king's defense, his captains made him drink that much). Wasn't the party supposed to be over, anyway? It was the king's birthday party, and, well, considering the birthday boy wasn't there anymore, shouldn't the party stop? And how come Juvia got drunk so fast? When he left, barely over half an hour ago, she was still very much sober. This thought awoke a bad feeling inside of Gray, as he immediately came to a conclusion that someone wanted to take advantage of his Juvia-chan while she was in that state. He was pulled out of his thoughts of murdering someone, though, when Juvia started stripping yet _another_ layer of Gray's clothing.

"Ju-Ju-Ju-Juvia-chan, y-you shouldn't do that!", he reprimanded her, but weakly, as he was too embarrassed to think straight. Juvia, on the other hand, thought nothing of her actions, and raised her head so she could look directly at Gray's face. She seemed to have started analyzing him, and Gray felt like he was being burned by her stare.

"Y're not half bad, y'know?", she said suddenly, and Gray was confused. "I mean, y'gotta nice face.", she added, and Gray turned even redder than before – and somehow, though usually he had problems with the temperature, he wasn't cold anymore.

"'N I saw you once, when you weren't wearin' any shirts. And I mean, wow. Why're you hidin' it?", she accusingly asked him, and Gray believed that he could die, then and there, by her words only (and he'd die a happy man). Still, he tried to keep what little sanity he had left, and slowly (and with difficulty because she wouldn't let go), he pulled himself away from her, only to stand by her side and drape her arm around his shoulder.

"Come on, Juvia-chan. I'm taking you home.", he said, and Juvia whined, saying she didn't want to go anywhere, while the others that were at the party collectively whistled. Gray shot them an embarrassed glare, adding _"To_ her _home"_ , but that only cause reactions like _"It doesn't matter where~"_ , so Gray decided to just ignore them, and continue on his way.

The streets were mostly empty, and the air was a bit too cold for Gray's liking, but the dead weight in the form of his long time crush (actually, _love_ ) didn't let him feel chilly for too long. Juvia was quietly limping while leaning on Gray, and he could almost swear she was humming a song. With her head leaned on his shoulder, and her body pressed up so tightly against his, Gray's mind wandered a bit, imagining the two of them on a date, holding hands, her comfortably settling on his shoulder, singing a song with her beautiful voice…

But then the smell of liquor brought him back to reality and he smiled bitterly. She was only acting like this because she was under the influence of alcohol. Tomorrow morning, she wouldn't remember a thing, and that might actually be _the best_ possible outcome. Because, who knows what she might do to him if she remembered everything?

"Y're awful quiet.", Juvia softly said, and Gray was startled by the tone of her voice. He didn't say anything, instead letting her continue her talk. "Y'usually talk non-stop 'round me. It's kinda annoyin' sometimes, but it's kinda nice some other times as well.", she confessed, and he was utterly taken aback by her sudden exclamation. "And you're this bubbly kinda person, and I'm this grump, and I just don't understand why you like me. Y'understand?", she said and Gray frowned, but before he could answer, she said something again. "We're way too different.", she finished, her last words almost a whisper, and Gray still wasn't saying anything. Both barely noticed that they were already in front of Juvia's building, so they entered and Gray helped Juvia clumsily climb up the stairs, then into her apartment.

He left her on the sofa in her living room, while he went to her kitchen to fetch her some water. She drank it all up, and they stayed in silence for a few minutes, until Gray spoke up.

"The fact that we're very different, is it that bad?", he asked, and didn't wait for Juvia's reply. "I mean, yes, I understand, those differences put us at odds a lot of time, but they also make us a great pair. We're like two pieces of a puzzle, you know? You're brash, and stubborn and independent, and I'm meek, easily persuaded and kind of dependant, but when we mix those traits, we turn out great, no?

"I mean, you made me a stronger character, you taught me to fight for myself and not to let everyone walk over me, and I, I like to think I taught you to be more open towards others, and to accept that sometimes, you're not right.", he said and sheepishly smiled, rubbing his neck.

"And sure, I know that there are tons of other guys out there who are better than me, but I still believe that I'm the best choice for _you_. And, I think, we're not _that_ different at all. I think it's more that we're different on the surface, but deep down, we're somehow similar. That's just… how I feel.", he finished, and was too embarrassed to look directly into Juvia. She stayed quiet for a long time, and Gray was starting to think that he messed up, and that she was going to hit him for everything he said.

He didn't expect her to do what she did next.

She got a hold of his chin, turned him around, and _kissed him_.

The kiss was sloppy and Gray could taste the alcohol, but it still made his stomach turn and the butterflies in it dance. She pulled away from him, but didn't let go of him – instead, she kept her grip on him tighter.

"I've absolutely _no_ idea how you did it, but you did it and it kinda sucks, but I've to get over it. I kinda like you. Not in the way you like me", she added immediately, not wanting to get Gray's hopes too high up, "but yeah, I like you and it's your fault. Now, help me up to my bed, 'm tired. I wanna sleep.", she suddenly ordered, and it took Gray several seconds before he registered what she last told him, and then he jumped up and picked her up bridal style. She weakly protested, but gave up after a short while because she was just too exhausted and let him carry her.

After laying her in her bed, Gray covered Juvia with a blanket and, after making sure she was asleep, he left her bedroom and closed the door.

Then he collapsed against them.

This day (or better said, night) was _very_ eventful for him, and he was kind of tired. But that didn't really matter to him, not now. Not after Juvia admitted that she _liked_ him! Granted, she said she liked him less than he liked her, and she was drunk when she said it so she probably wouldn't remember anything when she woke up, but she still said she liked him! That meant that there was still hope, and so now, more than ever, Gray decided not to give up.

The happiest he's been in a while, he exited Juvia's apartment and then her building with a skip in his step. Tomorrow, Juvia would probably return to her grumpy old self (especially with the killer hangover waiting for her), but now Gray knew how she felt, and, that was enough for him (for the time being).

But of course, Juvia was full of surprises, so the next day he woke up with a single message from her.

' _I remember everything._ '

Minutes later, while he was still staring at the screen of his communicating device, another message came.

'… _Pick me up in front of my building in ten minutes and don't you_ dare _be late.'_

Safe to say, Gray had never run faster in his entire life.


	5. We can never be together kiss - Jerza

**A/N: Guess who watched The Duchess (and bawled like a baby)? Yup, me. So it shouldn't be so surprising this story was kind of based on it. Not that you have to watch the movie to understand what's going on ;). Though I do recommend it. Also, I lost control with this one... :D**

Pairing: Jerza

Prompt: We can never be together kiss

 _-_ _She was fighting a hard battle and she was fighting it alone.-_

Word count: 2873

* * *

The hall was full of people, but that was to be expected. It's not everyday that such an important man was throwing such a grandiose ball. People from all around the country gathered to attend it. The ball was thrown to celebrate the birthday of the Duke's young wife, as well the political success of the Duke and his family. Erza strolled around the crowded room, saluting everyone. She slowly sipped the champagne in her hands, and with calculating eyes observed each and every man in the crowd, deliberating which ones should she talk to, and which ones she was supposed to stay away from.

Before she could decide whom to join, she was approached by several people whom she had to have a small talk with. Erza indulged them in a conversation, faking her smile the best she could, and by the looks of it, she was doing a great job. After talking to those people for a couple of minutes, she excused herself and went away in search of her friends, hoping to have a pleasant talk with them – because those formal conversations she had to lead with the rest were tiring her out. She managed to come across one of her close childhood friends and his companion, a girl she had just recently met, but nonetheless considered one of those closer to her. Erza complimented the blue haired woman's dress, and the woman blushed and returned the compliments, saying that Erza was the most beautiful woman in the castle. The red haired laughed good-naturedly, and warned her raven haired friend to take care of his partner. He just blushed and slightly nodded, prompting the blue haired girl to blush as well. Erza looked over them with gentle eyes that contained an immense happiness for the couple, but also a slight dose of jealousy.

The trio broke away after chatting for a while, and Erza continued on her search for her friends. She met up with a blonde woman and her husband, both of which were Erza's close friends. She ran into the white haired siblings, and their companions for the night. She met a young girl, who lost her mother, and then a young boy who was arguing with his father. She passed by many people, but there was one person, she couldn't find at all.

Erza exited the hall and went to the balcony, hoping to catch some fresh air. The moonlight was pale, so the night was barely illuminated. There, on her own, she was allowed to let her thoughts roam. And they went straight to _him_.

The blue haired woman she saw earlier inevitably reminded her of another blue haired person, one she hasn't seen in a long while, and one she hoped to come across tonight.

He was her childhood friend, so to say. His mother had been a maid at Erza's family house, so the blue haired boy often kept company to the scarlet haired girl. And they liked each other a lot – they were the best of friends. But as they grew up, their social differences became more and more evident, and the two grew apart. Erza didn't want that to happen, but the boy was convinced it was for her own good. A woman of her status should not mix with a man of his. So one day, he left, suddenly, without even saying goodbye. Erza was furious and hurt at the same time. It was the summer she turned seventeen. Two years later, she left her family home as well.

She was married off to the Duke.

Now, she was turning twenty-three. Exactly six years after the boy had left her. But not six years since she last saw him.

It happened a bit less than a year ago. She was on a visit to her pregnant friend when she saw him. And he was just like she remembered him, but at the same time, different. His hair was still the same wonderful shade of blue, and his eyes were still the mysterious, brownish-green color. The right side of his face was still marred by a beautiful red mark, the mark she'd recognize anywhere, the mark that would help her find him among million people. But the air around him was different. Gone was the cheerful boy from her childhood. The one pressed down by social barriers was no more, as well. In front of her stood a man, a dignified, mature man, with the stance of a Baron or a Lord. He looked breathtaking. And Erza's breath was, indeed, taken away.

" _Erza? I don't believe I have introduced you to our guest. He is a political partner of my husband, Mister-"_

"Jellal Fernandez. _Yes, I know. I've had the… pleasure of meeting him before."_ , Erza answered to her friend, offering her hand to Jellal, who smirked behind his bangs and accepted it. He bowed down, kissed her hand, and looked her straight in the eyes, with a look that pierced right through Erza's soul.

" _It is an utmost pleasure of meeting you again, Miss Erza._ The Duchess of Era. _"_

The way he said those words would forever haunt Erza, but so would his entire existence. She always knew that the two of them shared a special connection, but it wasn't until she saw him that autumn that she finally understood just _what_ kind of connection they shared. That knowledge would always leave her heart in agony.

Sighing, Erza decided it was time for her to return to the ball. The dance would start soon, and it wouldn't be right for the Duchess not to dance, especially on her birthday. Luckily for her, the Duke didn't like dancing much, so he let her choose whichever partner she wanted for her first dance.

Although there was only one person she ever wanted to dance with.

Joining the crowd, she put on her mask and once again played the role of the happy Duchess. In the others' minds, there was nothing she should be unsatisfied with, anyway – she had it all. All but the things she wanted the most and money couldn't buy. But none of them, except her friends, ever bothered to notice that. Erza glided through the hall, as graceful as ever, and was about to accept the offer of dance from one of her husband's political partners, when a rich, deep voice reached her ears and filled her entire being.

"May I have this dance, Your Highness?", Jellal asked, and Erza turned around to face him. He bowed down, deeply, and Erza offered him her hand, as she did a year ago.

"… _You may._ ", she answered heavily, her chest rising and falling in a painful rhythm. Jellal took her hand and kissed it, leading her to the center of the hall. Whispers erupted from the crowd, but were soon hushed by Erza's friends. She silently thanked them and when she turned around, she saw her pink haired friend grinning at her, and his wife giving her a knowing smile. Erza subtly blushed, and decided to enjoy the moment. She and Jellal took their positions, and the music started. The hall was filled with dancing people, but Erza had her eyes directly in front of her. Locked with the eyes of the man she was dancing with.

"… It's been a long time, hasn't it, Miss Erza?", Jellal asked in a whisper, and the sound sent chills down Erza's spine.

"It certainly has, Mister Fernandez. How have you been?"

"Great, if I may say so. The political campaign has been going quite well."

"My husband says you're one of the most successful politicians he's ever met, even though you're so young."

Jellal smirked, and Erza could detect a slight dose of hatred woven into it.

"I am most honored. To think such a powerful man deems me so great.", he answered, and Erza lowered her head, letting silence reign over them for a few moments. Then, she softly spoke up, surprising Jellal.

"I always knew you'd make it.", she said, and she felt Jellal's grip on her hands tighten a bit. "You were always the bright one, a quick learner and someone who promised a lot. I… _I am so proud of you._ " She said the last part so silently, so gently, as if it was a delicate tread that would break if she said it loudly. And maybe it was.

Jellal sucked in a breath, obviously fighting against saying, or doing something that he shouldn't. They spent the rest of the dance in silence, and when they finished it, Jellal bowed down and immediately went away, leaving Erza confused and disappointed. Did she say something wrong? Why was this happening again? Why did he evade her once more? She danced a few more dances with her friends before deciding to search for Jellal. She found him on the balcony, in the farthest corner, sipping wine and looking at the stars. She silently approached him, and even though Jellal detected her presence, he didn't acknowledge it. Until Erza spoke up.

"… The night is beautiful, isn't it? The sky is so clear, you can see the stars. Yet the moonlight is so pale, you can barely see anything else.", she said, looking at the sky. "You've… always liked stargazing, haven't you?"

"…Yes.", he replied after a while, ending the silence. "Yes the stars… always calmed me down. Gave me peace. I cannot say why. I do not know it myself."

Erza chuckled, a sound some would deem unfit for a lady. "You always were a puzzle like that."

Jellal looked at her, and then Erza looked back, only to find him wearing a serious expression, but also a mask that didn't allow her to see his true emotions. Erza knew that mask very well, she wore it when she was surrounded by strangers or being attacked. And the thought of either one of the two being the reason Jellal wore it, made her heart clench painfully. Why was it, that he always seemed so distant?

"Why did you come here, Erza?", he asked her, without the tone he was using when talking to her earlier. "Is there something you want from me? Is there something… the Duke wants?", he asked, almost spit out, and Erza's face contorted into a painful grimace, being hurt from those words.

"Why would I need a special reason to talk to my dear old friend? Jellal, why are you acting like this? Why are you trying to run away from me again?", she accused, raising her voice a bit. But she never expected the answer she would get from him.

"Because I have to!", he shouted, but because of the music, only Erza could hear it. "Because of our own good, Erza, yours and mine. Because this", he pointed to himself than her, "it's dangerous. We're playing with fire. And were not the only ones to suffer from that flame.", he said, and Erza's heart started beating ten times faster. Instead of scaring her off or pushing her away, his speech just now gave her _hope_. And God forgive her, she would become a sinner if she had to. Only if _this_ got a chance.

"You make it out to sound horrible when you know it's something great-"

"It isn't! Erza, it isn't! It can't be.", Jellal said, his voice shaking a bit. "You… Oh God, your presence alone tortures me. It always did.", he confessed, and Erza's eyes widened at that confession, and she felt like someone drove a knife through her heart. "Because, you were always there, within my reach, but I was never allowed to reach out. I had to watch from the sidelines, and to accept that the two of us didn't live in the same world, even though as a child, I truly believed that we did.", he said, and his voice softened at the end.

"Jellal-", Erza tried, but was cut off again.

"And when I finally start making a name for myself, when I finally start hoping that I may be able to reach you and your world, you, you escape me once again! And in what way.", he bitterly laughed, angering Erza a bit. "Can you imagine my surprise, Erza, when I hear that you had been married? To a _duke_ , no less."

"If I had known what your plans were, I would have waited!", Erza spoke up suddenly, tired of listening to Jellal and being accused, hurt by his words. Jellal seemed surprised at her sudden outburst, but Erza didn't let him say anything. "You think you were the only one who suffered?! There is two of us in this, Jellal, two! You are not the only one who had been hurt by the cruelty of this world and our feelings! I was, too! I am _still_ hurting!", she yelled, and tears started forming in the corner of her eyes. Jellal almost reached to wipe those tears away, but he managed to stop his desire.

" _... I love you…_ ", Erza whispered, and Jellal's eyes widened. He wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in his throat, because he couldn't lie to her - he didn't know how - but the truth was something that no one was supposed to find out, not even _she_. Even though he knew that she already understood everything. After thinking hard of an answer to this, he decided to tell her the only thing he could. The cruel fact.

"You mustn't.", Jellal said, silently, with fallen expression. Erza raised her head to look at him, and in his eyes she could see the hell he was experiencing with saying those words, the same she was experiencing from hearing them. But she didn't let herself be beaten so easily. This love, was something she would fight for with her entire being. She refused to give up.

"But I do.", she said softly, closing in on him. Jellal, as if in a trance, didn't pull away from her, and let her come closer, until they were only a breath away. "And you do, too. You love me.", she whispered, and her gaze lowered to his lips, her eyelids growing heavy, her breath becoming ragged. Jellal wasn't any better – he was subtly shaking with her presence, and his eyes fell closed, as if he was trying to get away from reality, but he couldn't.

"I… I'm not allowed to.", he rasped, and both him and Erza took shaky breaths with their proximity. Their noses only slightly touched, but the small gesture sent fire to every fiber of their being. "Erza… Go away. Go away, please, I beg you. Let me go. Leave me be."

"… Never.", she breathed out, and then sealed the distance between them. The kiss was unlike any other they've experienced – it was passionate and gentle at the same time, and it was what they both wanted, what they both needed, but couldn't get. To her it was the beginning, but to him, it was the end. They could never be together – she was _the Duchess_ , the most important woman in the country, married to the most powerful man. And he, what was he? An amateur politician that had just started making his career? He had nothing to offer, and both of them had everything to lose. So when they pulled away, Jellal made sure to make as much distance between them as possible. Their heavy breathes and their thundering heartbeats filled the night air, but the sounds of the violins and cellos and the darkness of the night hid them from the rest of the world. In that moment, only the two of them existed.

They locked their eyes once more, and the battle of heated stares began. Each of them fighting for happiness, but both if them on the opposite sides.

"We must never meet again. _Scarlet_ , you must never search for me.", Jellal said desperately, begging his love to forget about him, knowing it was the only way for her to be happy. Her old nickname tasted so bittersweet on his lips, but he had to make a sacrifice in order to keep her happiness. Because he loved her, and she meant the world to him.

"I will never, stop searching, _Jellal_. Because I need you. And you need me. And we can only be truly happy if we are with each other.", she said, holding her ground firmly. Jellal kept her gaze for a while longer before abruptly turning around and leaving. Erza exhaled a breath she was holding in until now and leaned on the fence, as her legs started to give in. She lifted her gaze to the skies once more, praying to the God to give her strength.

She was fighting a hard battle and she was fighting it alone.

But she needed to win. She had to.

She would not let Jellal say that they could never be together. Not again.

The wind started blowing, shaking the leaves on the trees, and with a sigh, Erza returned to the ballroom. And somewhere in the distance, a blue haired man searched for comfort in the stars, knowing that he might never find it again.


	6. Surprise kiss

**A/N: Here's another story! My inspiration kind of left me suddenly, so I'll be uploading much slower, but I'll still try to write everything! :)**

 **This one here is mostly for laughs, so couples aren't really the main point, but they're still here. Which ones, well, you'll have to read and see... ;) (It's a... _surprise_. Badum-tss)**

Prompt: Surprised kiss

 _-Accidents can happen to anyone, even to those we wouldn't expect.-_

Word count: 1112

* * *

"Was that absolutely necessary?", Mirajane asked with a worried frown on her face. Across from her, Erza sat at the bar and calmly sipped her strawberry tea.

"They refused to calm down. It had to be done.", she replied dutifully, proud of the effect her little… _stunt_ had on the two resident troublemakers. The guild was awfully quiet, even though many of the members were in the hall. They all whispered among themselves, stealing glances at Erza, and two gloomy corners.

"But Erza, that was _mean_!", Lucy scolded, even though she, like most of the witnesses, laughed very loudly when the incident occurred. "Look at them! They're _shaking_!"

"I say good job, Seventh!", Cana yelled from across the hall, holding a big barrel of beer in her arms, almost protectively. "No wonder you're the new master!"

Erza simply smirked, then continued sipping her tea.

"If you are so worried, Lucy, why don't you go and help them, then?", Erza said, looking at the blonde. "Juvia has already so selflessly offered her help, and now she is at the corner, cheering Gray up. Ah, what a wonderful person she is!", she proclaimed, and Mira and Lucy shared a look. They were ninety-nine percent sure Juvia's act wasn't _entirely_ selfless.

"I am going, don't worry. See you guys later.", Lucy said, and marched over to the corner of the guild where Natsu crouched, Happy flying over him. The corner was at the completely opposite side of Gray's, but, well, Lucy couldn't blame him.

"Hey.", she said, shaking Natsu's shoulder. "How are you?", she asked, and got her answer the moment he turned around. His face was pale, his eyes terrified, and his lip was quivering. Lucy felt a wave of sympathy wash over her, and she felt very guilty for laughing at the beginning. Now, she realized, Erza might have taken things too far. After all, she hasn't yet seen Gray, but if he looked half as bad as Natsu… Lucy and Happy shared worried looks, before being startled by a man's voice.

"Don't touch me!", Gray flinched and shouted, as Juvia tried massaging his back. The girl seemed a bit hurt for a moment, but got over it very quickly.

"It's okay, Gray-sama. It's Juvia, don't worry. Juvia won't do anything, she promises!", she tried to reassure him, but Gray still seemed unconvinced. He looked at her, and he looked almost haunted – he had bloodshot eyes and a traumatized look on his face. Juvia's heart broke upon the sight, and she whipped her head around to stare at Erza, angry tears falling down her face.

"What Erza-san did was awful!", she shouted, and the red-head calmly answered.

"It was for their own good."

"What good? Look at them!"

"They are only mildly disturbed right now, it will pass them soon."

" _Mildly_ disturbed? Erza-san, they look like they just faced death!"

The guild was now watching the interaction between the two women, silently commenting. Lucy watched from the side, holding a shivering Natsu. Juvia and Erza had a very pleasant relationship, full of respect, and it was very rare for the two of them to be arguing like this. _However_ , Erza did hurt Gray, so by extension, she hurt Juvia.

"They are simply overreacting, _Juvia_. Let them be for a while. Besides, they deserved it – I warned them and they didn't listen."

"Surely there were other ways to punish them!"

"None of them seemed to work."

"But did you have to make them _kiss_?", Juvia desperately asked, and the whole guild went silent, except for Natsu and Gray who were repeating _"No, no, no, no, no!"_ over and over again, covering their ears and squeezing their eyes shut. Lucy was comforting Natsu while Juvia took deep breathes, in order to calm herself down. Several moments passed without the silence being broken, until Erza cleared her throat and silently said something that shocked a big part of the guild.

"… I didn't necessarily want to make them _kiss_. I was just trying to knock their heads together, and that happened. It was an accident. I'm sorry.", she dejectedly said, and the guild erupted into chattering. Cana could be heard saying _"Meh, boring!"_ before downing another barrel of alcohol.

"It doesn't matter!", Gray yelled all of a sudden, effectively shutting everyone up. " _You…_! You _made me_ … made me… _him_! _Him_ , of all people!"

"It was your fault, you stupid Ice Brain!", Natsu finally spoke up, startling Lucy. "You _had_ to piss her off! And now! Now! Aaargh, I don't wanna think about iiiit!", he said, then started rubbing his lips.

"You think _I_ wanna remember it?! You think _I_ wanna be reminded of it every day? For crying out loud, I don't want the last kiss I got to be from someone like y-", Gray started, but was shut up by a soft pair of lips pressing on his, lingering for a short while. Juvia pulled away, beet red, and mumbled something that Gray barely heard.

"There… Now Natsu-san isn't the last person that kissed Gray-sama…", she said, and the guild erupted into loud cheering, while Erza nodded her head, satisfied. Gray was frozen at the spot, trying to process the fact that he was caught by surprise with a kiss _twice_ in one day, from _two_ different people. He stared at the distance, changing colors like a chameleon, and Juvia shook him, worried because of his lack of response.

"Gray-sama? Gray-sama, are you okay? Y _ou_ look pale- oh, wait, now you're really red, do you have a fever- oh, now you're blue, Gray-sama, what's wrong?!"

And as the noise went on, the white haired barmaid simply sighed and then gently smiled. The members loudly discussed the recent happenings and some even started several bets, which many joined. The red haired guild master smiled and amusedly shook her head, saying _"They never learn"_. In one of the calmer corners, the celestial mage was still holding a disturbed dragon slayer, only now, he seemed to have something on his mind. He openly stared at Lucy, and she cautiously asked him what was wrong, afraid of the answer.

"Wh-What is it, Natsu?", she asked, but the dragon slayer just kept staring.

"Lucy…", he said after a while and looked at her with a serious expression, and the blonde blushed hard before letting go of him and running away.

"Hell no!", she yelled.

"Aw, c'mon, Luce!", Natsu whined, running after her.

"They _liiiike_ each other.", Happy teased as he flew after the two of them.

It was a day full of surprises, one they wouldn't forget any time soon. _Especially_ if they were the resident ice and fire mage.


	7. War's end kiss - Mystwalker

**A/N: Another story in the Edolas universe, this time it's Mystwalker/Edo Jerza. :) I hope you'll like it! :D**

Pairing: Mystwalker/Edo Jerza

Prompt: War's end kiss

 _-After all of this was over, they'd have to have a serious conversation.-_

Word count: 2269

* * *

"Your Highness, watch out!"

A blue haired man turned around just in time to see an enemy trying to attack him from behind. With practiced ease he swung his sword and defended himself, then rushed to the side of his most trusted general that just saved his life.

"Thank you for warning me.", Jellal said, back to back with a red haired woman who just fended off two more attackers.

"It would have been bad if the King was killed, especially with me so close by. I would like it if you took better care of yourself, Your Excellency. Your life is _not_ yours only.", General Knightwalker responded professionally, turning only a bit so she could look at her superior from the corner of her eye. Seeing him smirk, in a situation like this, made her incredibly angry, but they didn't have the time for another one of their "silly", as some would call them, arguments.

"The west wing is under intense attack. I must lead a part of the trope there and help them. I trust it that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself from now on, _Jellal_.", Erza said, now talking to a friend, rather than her king, and Jellal turned around so he could look her in the eye. They silently communicated, telling each other everything through their looks.

" _Don't you (dare) lose."_

With a nod, General Knightwalker left King Jellal's side, and shouted for her men to retract to the west. Jellal was left with one more general by his side, and two tropes guarding him.

"When this is over", he said, talking to himself, "you and I will have to have a serious conversation, General. So you better come back in one piece." The enemy kept attacking, so the King resumed fighting, counting on his associates to help him protect the country.

…

Several hours later, the exhausted soldiers were returning to their tents. The battle was over, and the enemy king surrendered. The Kingdom of Edolas was, once again, protected. Naturally, there were many casualties, many wounded or dead. The King himself was injured, having been cut after defending two young warriors. He wasn't in a serious danger, but he _will be_ seriously scolded once his female general heard of his _stupidity_ , as she would say.

Jellal hoped he would hear that scolding soon.

Even though the battle had ended, not everyone returned yet. It was unknown for many whether they were just missing, or were actually dead. And the west wing _was_ under the biggest pressure. So even though many of his subordinates already reported to him, Erza Knightwalker was yet to do so. No one had seen her either. Jellal believed in Erza , he truly did – she was one of his most trusted soldiers and one of the best as well – but he couldn't help but feel worried for her. Even though she told him, numerous times, that they shouldn't mix professional and personal feelings, Jellal couldn't simply shrug his worries off. She… She was someone dear to him. _Very_ dear.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a ruckus outside, and an irritated female voice approaching.

" _Uh-oh"_ , Jellal though, _"she sounds really angry."_

And just at that moment, the red head warrior violently pulled away the curtains to his tent and marched towards Jellal, grabbing him by the collar of his tattered uniform. Jellal only hissed a bit, even though his whole front side was hurting.

"How stupid _are_ you, huh? Why in the world did you, _a king_ , jump in front of the enemy's sword to protect two mere soldiers? Have you _any_ idea what would have happened if they actually _killed_ you? Did you think for a second about the consequences of your idiocy- and no, don't even start your _"I have to protect everyone"_ fairy bull because if you had died, all of us would have been in danger!", Erza yelled at Jellal, tired and exhausted from the battle, but _livid_ because of the information she got about him risking his life. It was as if he forgot who he was and what his responsibilities were. Even worse, it was as if he _intentionally_ chose not to listen to her and go ahead and throw himself at the enemy's hands. She was about to start yelling at him once more, but then he put one of his hands on hers, and looked at her with gentle eyes.

"I'm so glad you're okay.", he whispered, and Erza couldn't stop the subtle blush from appearing on her cheeks. She didn't let go of him yet, though, because she still had many things she wanted to say to him.

"Oh, no, don't you think you can get away from this by… by doing _that_! What you did was probably the stupidest thing you've done so far, and you've done _many_ stupid things, _believe_ me. And where's the idiot that was supposed to protect you? Uh, when I get my hands on him, I'm going to-"

"He's in his tent right now. He is being healed. Please, do not disrupt the medics.", Jellal calmly said, disentangling himself from Erza's grasp. "And I am not trying to get away from anything. You are right – what I did was very stupid and I admit my mistake.", he apologized, now standing across from her.

"Then- Then why did you do it?!", Erza asked incredulously, but Jellal just shrugged, angering her even more.

"Instinct, I guess."

"Instinct, _you guess_. Well, if that's so, I shouldn't be angry with you _at all_ , isn't that right?", Erza yelled once again, and by now, Jellal was sure that everyone could hear them. He was also sure that no one would dare interrupt their little _argument_ , as everybody knew that the king and the red haired general had become very close over the past few years, and that Erza would never do any _real_ harm to Jellal because she was loyal. They also knew, though, that when angry, Erza would turn into something close to the demon himself, and they didn't want to experience her wrath.

"That's not what I'm saying, but can we _please_ talk about this later? I have some more important things to discuss with you right now.", Jellal said, causing Erza to rise an eyebrow.

"What could _possibly_ be more important than teaching you a valuable lesson?", she asked with her arms crossed beneath her chest.

Jellal looked her from the top to the bottom. She was dirty, bruised and bloodied all over. Cuts and scars marred her skin, and her hair fell over her shoulders like a river of blood. Her uniform was tattered, revealing quite a lot, though it didn't hide much from the beginning anyway. She looked like a mess, but there was still a dignified aura around her that made her look absolutely _stunning_. Like she was the goddess of war. And, well, Jellal was sure that those old men from the council would be absolutely flabbergasted by his move, but they had been nagging him about this for _such a long time_ already, that he was starting to get annoyed. And if he had to do it, he'd do it on his own conditions.

"Marry me.", he said, pulling the straightest face he could make, and Erza's jaw dropped. Outside, he could hear collective gasps, a few cheers and even some words about some kind of a bet, but he ignored it all, looking straight at the woman in front of him. Who was still gapping.

"W-what? Are… Are you… Are you _insanse_?!", she finally said, and it was the exact reaction Jellal was expecting. "You must have hit your head or something, that's why you keep doing stupidities like this. You know how I said you risking your life for those two was the stupidest thing you ever did? Well, I take it back. This is.", she said, walking around the tent, and muttering all sorts of things (which a future queen should _never_ say) under her breath. Those outside took that as a sign to get away as far as they can, and avoid being greatly injured.

"I am completely normal, thank you very much. In fact, I have been thinking about this for a while now, so there is no way I'm saying this only because I've hit my head. I'm serious. Marry me, Erza.", he repeated, as firmly as the first time, and Erza was slightly taken aback by this.

"You… _do_ realize… that I am not a noblewoman, but a soldier.", Erza reminded him, taking a different approach to the situation.

"Yes, I'm very well aware, and if I may say, you're one of the best. That's why, should anyone attack you, I believe you'd be able to protect yourself.", Jellal countered, still wearing a calm face, and Erza narrowed her eyes at him.

"I almost killed you once. What guarantee do you have that I won't do it again?", she said, thinking of the time when the two of them met again after Jellal had spent seven years on Earthland as "Mystogan", when she attacked him while knowing he was the prince.

"You were only serving your previous king, which shows you are loyal. Besides, I believe you have changed since then. And I think we've grown… _closer_ since then.", Jellal replied, reminding them both of a certain incident that happened about a year ago. Both Erza and he blushed remembering what happened that night, but then Erza cleared her throat and broke the awkward silence.

"What about my reputation as the Fairy Hunter? Those Fairy Tail people may put up with me now, but they haven't forgotten what I've done, I can assure you. Do you really think they'd accept me?", she said, her voice showing a tint of sadness and regret that she tried to hide, but Jellal just smiled softly.

"I told you", he said, "I've been thinking about this for a while. I've already asked them would it bother them."

"You _what-_ "

"They haven't forgotten what you did.", he said seriously, prompting Erza to stop talking. "But they said that you've proved yourself, and that you deserve a second chance. And, according to Lucy, _'What better way to show you've changed that than to pledge your loyalty to the King and the Kingdom, and to swear you would protect the nation with everything you got?'_

Erza was surprised, and she'd never admit, touched by the amount of trust her once enemies were putting into her. She was running out of excuses and reasons to say _"no"_ , and the more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't want to say it. A strange kind of warm feeling was spreading through her body, and she could feel her heart beat fast, not out of excitement, fear or adrenalin, but because of the thought of being… _married_ to Jellal. Not the king. Jellal.

Her face flamed up and Jellal allowed himself to subtly chuckle, amused by the red head's reactions. He knew she was giving in, and that she only needed a slight push to cave in completely. He smiled softly, feeling happy because of this. Erza looked at him again, and with a weakened voice asked him about one last obstacle.

"W-What about those fossils at the council? Surely they wouldn't agree with your decision."

"Who cares what they think? _I'm_ the king. And I think we need to refresh the council a bit, anyway. Introduce some young blood.", he joked, and slowly closed in on Erza. She silently watched him, and she didn't move away from her spot. When Jellal approached her, he took her hand and kissed her knuckles, making Erza blush once again.

"I ask you again: Erza Knightwalker, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, and the Queen of Edolas?", he asked, looking her straight into the eyes, and slowly, Erza nodded, inhaling a lot of air before answering.

"Yes."

Jellal smiled and kissed her knuckles again, then he kissed her forehead, and then they looked at each other's eyes before kissing on the lips, sealing their promise. As Jellal pulled away, he smiled at Erza, who averted her eyes, too embarrassed to look at him. After a few moments of silence, though, Erza remembered something.

"I'm still going to be a general, right? I don't have to quit just because I'm going to become a queen, right?", she seriously asked, and Jellal shook his head.

"I would never make you quit. You love being a general, and besides, Edolas needs you."

"Good. And… Y-you know I don't _love_ you, right? This is just a m-marriage out of convenience, you know?", she said, but while stuttering, so she didn't sound too convincing, but Jellal humored her anyway.

"Of course. But, you have to admit that you at least _like_ me.", he teased her, and she thought about punching him but decided against the idea, as it was not the smartest thing to do to a king. Sighing, she nervously rubbed her legs against one another and mumbled something, but Jellal understood it clearly.

"You're… not that bad.", she said, and Jellal laughed at that, prompting Erza to hit him on the shoulder lightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But it's okay, don't worry – I have a lifetime to make you fall for me after all.", he winked at her, and at first, Erza was startled, but after only a few moments she smirked and confidently raise her head.

"Let me see you try, _my King_."


	8. Goodbye kiss - Gruvia

**A/N: This is one of the shorter stories. Think of it as set in a modern AU, though I guess it can be set pretty much anywhere, maybe even in canon (hopefully not though)... Hope you'll enjoy it! (P.S. It's kind of angsty, but what did you expect with that kind of prompt?)**

Pairing: Gruvia

Prompt: Goodbye kiss

 _-_ _Doesn't it hurt to hate someone who meant so much?-_

Word count: 646

* * *

 _And every loss, and every lie_

 _And every truth that you deny_

 _And each regret, and each goodbye_

 _Was a mistake too great to hide_

Linkin Park - New Divide

* * *

It was probably better like this.

It wasn't like they didn't try – they both gave their best to make the relationship work, but their best was simply not good enough. There were too many differences between them, which didn't matter at the beginning, but has proven to be a thorn in their sides later on. Their fights were frequent and meaningless – either he made a mess and threw his clothes around again, or she pouted at the way he talked to another woman. Those faults were supposed to have been accepted by both of them at the start. They knew each others' bad sides, but they chose to be together because they _loved_ each other.

Now that love seemed to be lost, overshadowed by their disagreements.

Gray tried to be less messy. He really did, but that trait had been so incorporated into his being, it was nearly impossible for him to get rid of it. The same was with Juvia. She fought hard against her jealousy and clinginess, but she had her insecurities, so seeing Gray with another woman, that she didn't know that well, irked her in an inexplicable way. It scared her.

For a long time, both denied everything. Juvia refused to admit that she thought Gray's messy habits were getting out of hand, and Gray chose to turn a blind eye on some of Juvia's jealousy fits. That period didn't last, though, because each unspoken truth and each lie they had said came back to hurt them, and they got tired of the charade soon. There was no hiding the truth anymore. They had to face one another honestly, and with no restrains.

After a heartfelt talk, they decided it was for the best to end things between them.

They still loved each other, they admitted, but they both agreed that sometimes, just love wasn't enough. Sometimes, no matter how hard we tried, we just couldn't keep the ones we held dear. Juvia thanked Gray for everything, and told him that he was the one who brought the sun to her somber life, and that for that, she will be forever grateful to him. He'll always hold a special place in her heart.

Gray answered that she helped him open up, and become warmer. Thanks to her, he learned to communicate with other people better. She melted the ice around his heart. He said he knows he'll never love anyone the way he loved her.

Their break up was seemingly unemotional. Both Juvia and Gray wore forced smiles, and their goodbye was short and curt. They kissed, for one last time. And then they both continued on their separate ways, neither looking back.

But when she returned to her apartment, Juvia immediately started crying. She sobbed and sobbed, and she couldn't get a hold of herself. To her, their "goodbye" kiss tasted like bittersweet memories, and the knowledge that she can never again have what she has lost. It tasted like many regrets she had, many things she'd left undone, many words she'd left unsaid. She never thought they'd come to an end. She never believed she'd have to say goodbye to _him_.

And Gray, Gray returned home with empty eyes and emotionless expression. He sat at his table and stared at a single spot for hours. She tasted like tears. Like the ones she was too afraid to cry, and the ones he refused to let out. She tasted like all the things he'll never have, all the memories from a future which will never be, all the broken promises, and the unfulfilled dreams. He was lost. She was lost as well. But they knew they made the right choice. Because, had they stayed together for just a while longer, they would have started hating each other.

And neither Gray, nor Juvia, wanted to hate someone who meant so much.


	9. Return from the dead kiss - Nalu

**A/N: Because this is the only way I'll accept _anyone_ dying at the end of Fairy Tail - if they get revived somehow. Like Jellal and Gray and... Look at that, this seems to be an often occurrence in FT, no?**

Pairing: Nalu

Prompt: Returned from the dead kiss

 _-_ _"I came back to you."-_

Word count: 1647

* * *

The first thing Lucy Heartfillia felt when Natsu Dragneel opened his eyes was a huge relief. Then a wave of hysteria.

"You _idiot_! You stupid, stupid, foolish idiot! What in the world were you trying to do?!", she yelled at him, barely keeping herself from shaking and punching him, knowing that it couldn't be good in his current state.

"Lu…cy?", Natsu mumbled weakly, not registering her yells, looking around only to realize he was in a make-shift hospital tent, which made him confused. _Very_ confused.

"Why… am I here?", he asked, and Lucy stopped her angry rambling for a while to shoot him a look and then answer him, in the form of more angry rants.

"' _Why am I here?'_ , you ask? Why, most probably because you went and fought recklessly again, and what's more, you were even more reckless than usual, so you-"

"Not that.", he said, his voice strained from pain and the memories of his last moments in the battle. He turned his head completely towards the blonde, so he could look her straight into the eyes and the seriousness in his black orbs caused shivers to run down Lucy's spine – because she knew exactly what his question would be.

"Why am I alive?"

Lucy took a shaky breath as she lowered her head, refusing to look the pink haired boy in the eyes. She sniffled a bit, urging herself to hold the tears in. She wasn't allowed to cry, no. She wasn't allowed to show weakness before him, not when he looked and felt and though like that. She had to be the strong one now. She had to be his pillar, like he always was hers. He needed her to be strong. _She_ herself needed her to be strong as well. She couldn't break down again, like she did when he-

Lucy shut her eyes tighter, willing the image away from her head.

"You… You were…", she tried to say, but found herself unable to. She breathed in deeply to calm herself down, and raised her head so she could look at Natsu. Her Natsu. The _human_ Natsu.

"You were revived.", she finally said, holding Natsu's gaze. His eyes went wide as his brain slowly processed the information his friend just presented him. He was _revived_. That meant that he did, in fact… die. The knowledge sent a forbidding chill down his spine as bits and pieces of the past events gathered in his head. He remembered fighting against someone, against something, then he remembered Zeref holding the book of E.N.D. and opening it and after that… it was all a blur. Until an image of a crying and broken sun-haired girl came to his mind, and he recalled the one thing he would never forgive himself.

"I almost killed you.", he whispered brokenly, and Lucy flinched at the sound. She hoped, prayed, actually, that he wouldn't remember that, but it seemed like her prayers had been in vain this time. At least he was alive. At least their friends were alive too. Alright – they weren't, not after everything that happened. It was a painful fact that not a single person would be without scars, but Lucy knew that as long as they were together, there for each other, they'd learn to numb the pain and move on.

And right now, one person needed her help to move on more than anyone.

"It wasn't you.", she softly said, reaching out to gently caress Natsu's cheek, but he flinched away, shaking, and Lucy's heart broke seeing him like this.

"It _was_ me. He _is_ me. He-"

"Isn't you anymore."

Natsu looked at Lucy, wide eyed, and she offered him a small smile, taking his hand in hers and refusing to let it go even when Natsu desperately tried to pull it away. She brushed his knuckles with her thumb, and eventually, Natsu calmed down a bit, enjoying the warmth her hand was producing. It meant that she was _alive_.

Lucy kept caressing the back of his hand for a while longer, until Natsu broke the silence and asked her the question she knew she had to answer him, but didn't know how.

"Lucy…", he said, and she slowly moved her eyes away from their joined hands to look at his face. "What did you mean by what you said? How is that possible?"

"I don't know.", she honestly replied, squeezing his hand unconsciously, and he squeezed it back, encouraging her to tell him everything she knew. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting her mind return to one of the most painful memories she had.

"You… Took back control for a while. You- _E.N.D._ ", she corrected herself and heard Natsu exhale shakily, "… fought Erza and Gray, and at one point he somehow knocked them both down for a short while and reached me, grabbing me by my neck and…", she trailed off, knowing it would be too painful for both her and Natsu if she finished that sentence. "… But then you returned. You put me down and started an internal battle against him. You fought and fought, and all the rest of us could do was watch.", Lucy said with a strained voice, finding it harder by second to keep her tears in check.

"It was awful. Juvia and Levy were crying and Gajeel, Erza and Gray kept shouting at you not to lose… Wendy stood by my side, healing me while she shook, barely containing her tears. Everyone was cheering for you, trying to help in any way possible. Happy… Happy screamed how he believed in you and how he knew you were good and you were going to win. He never… He never stopped believing in you.", Lucy smiled, remembering the blue Exceed's words. Her expression then suddenly turned solemn, and Natsu frowned, but refrained from saying anything.

"You planned it from the beginning. From the moment Zeref told you who you were, you knew what you would do. What you _needed_ to do.", Lucy scoffed, and Natsu caught on right away.

"… I was going to sacrifice myself, right?", he asked, already knowing the answer, and Lucy furrowed her brows, feeling a pang of anger at the mention of Natsu's intentions.

"You're a stupid idiot, you know that?"

"You already told me that.", he chuckled, lifting the mood a bit, and she couldn't help the affectionate smile graze her lips. She moved her hand to his head, surprising Natsu, and started running it trough his hair. Natsu blushed a bit, but said nothing as she kept stroking his pink locks. Her hand suddenly started shaking, and he scrunched his face in confusion before he realized she was sobbing. His eyes widened right away and he stood up, ignoring the scorching pain as he hugged her tightly, and she returned the hug tightly as well, leaning her ear over his beating heart so she could convince herself that she wasn't dreaming. Natsu comforted her, rubbing her back and caressing her hair before he, in the spur of the moment, kissed the top of her head lovingly.

" _It's okay._ ", he whispered in her ear. " _I'm here, aren't I?_ "

"Barely!", she shouted, but her shout was muffled by his chest as she kept clinging to him. "If Porlysica and Wendy weren't there… And even Zeref had to… Master Mavis, too! If they weren't there, you…", Lucy said incoherently, but Natsu knew what she was talking about.

He remembered going to the afterlife – or at least what looked like the afterlife – and meeting Igneel there. He remembered talking to him about everything. He remembered saying that he wasn't angry at his "father" for hiding the truth, because Natsu knew it was for his own good. He remembered his brother. Zeref walked into Natsu's afterlife, smiling at him, thanking him for finally _releasing_ him from the pain, and apologizing for everything bad that he had done. Zeref said he didn't expect Natsu to forgive him, ever, but that he still wanted to do something for him. Natsu then saw The First appear behind Zeref, as she, too, smiled at him, and Zeref and her looked at each other before raising their hands in Natsu's direction, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up, with Wendy and Porlysica kneeling above him and frantically trying to help him.

The last thing Natsu remembered seeing before he passed out were the relieved, tear stained faces of his friends, and the last thing he heard and felt was Lucy squeezing his hand, whispering:

" _You came back to me."_

"I came back to you.", he repeated, and Lucy stilled in his hands, shyly raising her head to look at him with red spots painting her cheeks. Natsu grinned and leaned his forehead against hers, reveling in the feel of her warm skin pressing against his, and her breath fanning his face.

"I know what saved me.", Natsu whispered with closed eyes, not moving away from Lucy.

"… What?", she whispered back, although she already had a feeling what he was going to say.

"The magic you always talked about. The One Magic.", he said and pulled away, opening his eyes to look at Lucy. Her face was painted in happiness and content, and her small smile radiated light, entering every corner of Natsu's soul. He returned the smile, slowly closing in on her, and Lucy let her eyes flutter closed. Natsu softly brushed his lips against her, sending warmth through both of them. Lucy leaned away from him, and looked into his eyes to find them shining with affection, and tears of happiness ran freely down her face. Natsu cupped her cheek, wiping away the tears that fell.

"Love.", Lucy said silently, and the two of them hugged again before all of their friends violently entered the tent and started throwing themselves at Natsu.


	10. I've missed you kiss - Lyredy

**A/N: Uh, I'm not that satisfied with the way this turned out, but this is my first time writing Lyredy, so... Next time I'll try harder! :D**

 **On a side note, the weather suddenly turned _way_ too hot (it's like 35+ degrees Celsius), so my brain is melting. Hopefully, I'll still manage to write everything in the next few days...**

Pairing: Lyredy

Prompt: I've missed you kiss

 _-Just for the record, the onlookers thought they were very cute.-_

Word count: 1293

* * *

"Ugh, I'm so _tired_!", Sorano moaned as the small group of mages made their way down a steep hill. Behind her, Richard merrily carried a sleeping Macbeth in his arms, which prompted Sorano to pout. She turned towards Sawyer, who disinterestedly walked along side of her.

"Lucky bastard.", she mumbled, and Sawyer smirked in agreement, but didn't say anything.

"We're almost there, Sorano, just a bit farther.", Jellal said, though he, too, was very exhausted. The mission they've just finished was extremely hard and tiring, and he just wanted to return home to a hot bath, comfy bed and his beautiful wife and little girl

"Blergh, don't start thinking all mushy, you're destroying my brain cells.", Erik complained, having _heard_ what the blue haired man was thinking. Jellal shot him a dirty look, full of disappointment, but Erik just grinned and continued on. Meredy silently watched the interaction between the two, and she couldn't help but giggle at the childish face her older brother figure was making.

"Oh come on, Erik, cut him some slack. He's totally whipped.", she joked and the group laughed, increasing Jellal's pout. But then Erik smirked at Meredy, and she started sweating while a chill ran down her spine. Boy, she knew she should have kept her mouth shut.

"Like you're the one to talk, Pinkie. All I've been getting from you these past few hours was _'I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him'_. You're not that better than your idiot brother either.", he teased her, and Meredy turned a deep red, while Sorano cooed at her and Sawyer hit her shoulder.

"Shut up!", she shouted, but everyone ignored her.

"Love, that is!", Richard happily chirped, and Macbeth hit him lightly, telling him to shut up.

"I still can't believe you're with that guy, though. How in the hell did the two of you hook up?", Sorano commented, honestly confused. She never knew the two of them were that close until Meredy dropped the bomb on them one day and told her comrades they were dating. "I mean, I'm not saying that that Lyon guy is a bad choice, he _is_ hot, but he's kind of weird and overbearing, and a bit clingy too. You could do better, you know.", she casually said, but Meredy got slightly angry.

"Lyon is a great guy!", she defended, and Sorano raised her hands in surrender, not wanting to start an argument. Jellal sighed, rubbing his temples, because his teammates were currently making him more tired that the mission did.

"Won't you leave her alone? I think you've teased us both enough today, especially you, Sorano and Erik.", he said, and said two clicked their tongues in annoyance, but said nothing. "We're nearing the station. Then we're separating and everyone will go where they want – Sorano, you want to see your sister, don't you? And I'm guessing you're coming with me, Erik.", Jellal slightly teased him, but Erik couldn't say anything to defend himself. "Meredy, you're going to Margaret town, aren't you?"

Meredy blushed again, but timidly nodded nonetheless. Jellal smiled at her and patted her head, and the group continued down the hill in silence.

…

As she boarded the train, Meredy felt nervous. She always felt uncomfortable traveling by public transportation, especially alone, even though she and the rest had been pardoned long time ago. It didn't help that she was traveling to see her _boyfriend,_ whom she hadn't seen in a long while. The pink haired girl looked out of the window at the fast changing scenery before her. She sighed, feeling the tiredness wash over her, and decided to take a nap. There was still some time before she reached the outskirts of Margaret town, and she would definitely wake up by then, isn't that right? That was the plan, at least.

When she came to, she was somehow moving, but she wasn't walking at all. Her still drowsy mind concluded she was still on the train, and Meredy was about to return to her peaceful nap when she realized that she wasn't _inside_ , but _outside_ , and that she could see silver locks in front of her. She was jolted awake by that knowledge, so she jerked away in surprise and almost fell. The man carrying her chuckled and turned his head slightly to the side so he could look at her.

"Are we awake now?", Lyon teased, but Meredy was still too confused to comprehend what happened and where she was.

"Wha- When- How?", she tried to ask, and Lyon laughed heartedly at her confusion, prompting Meredy to hit him on the head, not gently.

"Ow! Alright, alright, I'm sorry. I won't laugh anymore, I promise.", he said, and Meredy decided to hold on to that promise, but she was still pouting. Nevertheless, she leaned back onto Lyon's back and they spent some time in silence.

"Did I oversleep?", she asked after a while, when she started to get an idea of what happened.

"You could say that.", Lyon joked but continued talking right away, so Meredy wouldn't be angry at him. "The train arrived and everyone was leaving, but I couldn't see you anywhere. I waited and waited, and eventually everyone got out but you. Then I heard this guy talking about how one girl feel asleep and they can't wake her up, and I immediately knew it was you.", Lyon said with a smile, but Meredy was very embarrassed. She hid her face in the crook of his neck and waited for him to continue talking.

"Naturally, I decided to not to try and wake you up, but carry you, like the gentleman I am.", he bragged and Meredy affectionately rolled her eyes, already used to his occasional bragging. "And I even prepared a special welcome, just for you!", he said and the pink haired girl thanked heavens she fell asleep and saved them both from the embarrassment.

"It's the thought that counts.", Meredy comforted him, and Lyon sighed but nodded his head. "You can put me down now, you know? I'm awake.", she said, but at her surprise Lyon shook his head and kept on walking. "B-But, I'm heavy!"

"You're as light as a feather, dear.", Lyon assured her, and Meredy rolled her eyes at the endearment. "Besides, won't you indulge me? It had been quite a while since we've last seen each other, and I want to be close to you.", he said with a gentle smile on his face, and she could swear her face could be used as a stove with the heat she was emitting. "Don't you want to be close to me too?", he teasingly asked, and instead of answering, Meredy shyly nodded her head, and as Lyon felt that, his face turned red like Meredy's.

"…I missed you.", she whispered, hugging him tightly, and Lyon stopped dead in his tracks, which startled Meredy. He abruptly put her down, but before she could ask what was wrong, Lyon was already kissing the daylights out of her. She stood frozen for a fraction of a second before she returned his kiss just as fervently, and the two of them didn't let go of each other for a while. When they finally did, Meredy looked at Lyon from under her eyelashes and Lyon smiled sweetly at her, leaning his forehead against hers.

"I missed you too.", he said. Meredy giggled at that and hugged Lyon before pulling away. She then looked at him and slyly said:

"Oh, I think I got that."

Lyon raised his eyebrow and smirked, mirroring Meredy's own smirk. He leaned down and slowly whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"I think… You still didn't get everything."


	11. Angry kiss - Gruvia

**A/N: This is some kind of secret agents AU I wrote who knows why. 'Cause I like that kind of stuff? Pretty possible... :D**

 **Anyway, as always (I'm getting annoying, no?), I hope you enjoy the story! :)**

Pairing: Gruvia

Prompt: Angry kiss

 _-_ _He had to realize he was stuck with her, and they were in this together.-_

Word count: 1631

* * *

"I can't believe what you did-"

"Juvia was just trying to protect-"

"-risked the mission because-"

"Gray-sama would do the _same-_ "

"I can take care of myself!"

"Juvia doesn't doubt that!"

Scowling, Gray towered over Juvia for a few more moments, holding her defiant gaze before he pulled away and threw his bloodied suit on the floor. Juvia's frown lessened a bit as she went to pick up the discarded article of clothing on the floor. She folded the jacket and left it at the table, deciding to wash it later, because the conversation wasn't done yet, and they both knew that.

"Juvia will brew us some tea.", she said, heading for the kitchen. "Gray-sama should cool his head by then, so we could talk rationally."

The raven haired man just growled, and with a sigh, Juvia left the living room, hoping that making tea would serve as some sort of distraction for her as well, and that it would help her calm down.

…

The mission they were on was lasting for a year already. A wealthy businessman was suspected to be a high profile criminal, and Juvia and Gray were assigned the mission of collecting as much evidence against him as possible. The office they worked in provided them with basic information, and it was their job to expand the list. The first few months had been more or less awkward, as Juvia had a crush on Gray and he knew it, but refused to acknowledge it. However, after a while of living together (because their mission required it), the two became close friends, and Juvia learned to push her feelings aside for the time being, and Gray opened up to her more and learned to accept her quirks.

Everything was going according to plan – Gray and Juvia found many interesting facts about the wealthy man, and they forwarded them all to their superiors, which were very satisfied with the work the two of them had done. However, about ten days ago, Juvia and Gray received an intelligence which said that there would be a social gathering, and that the social gathering was actually a mask for the underground operations. They decided to infiltrate the party and maybe catch the businessman in act, which would end their long lasting mission. Things were progressing smoothly until Juvia noticed that they were being watched. She concluded that someone must have found out that they were spies, so she suggested Gray they should leave immediately.

Unfortunately, just as they exited the mansion, several people waited for them. They started attacking right away, and Gray managed to call for backup only several minutes later. He and Juvia jumped into their car and drove away to a more secluded place, where the others followed them. They were under intense fire, and it seemed like there was no way out. Gray decided to go all against them, _alone_ , and ordered Juvia to stay behind, which she refused. But Gray locked her inside the car and proceeded to fight the enemies alone, leaving a very frustrated Juvia. For some time, she fiddled with the wires so she could unlock the door, but by the time she managed to do so, Gray had already been captured.

The criminals asked for the information the two gathered in exchange for Gray's life, something the raven haired man refused, and also told Juvia to refuse. Juvia, however, couldn't do that. In the year they spent together, her feelings for Gray grew even stronger, and she would never forgive herself if she didn't save him. So she made a proposal – they would take her and leave Gray alone, and in return, she'd tell them everything she knew. Of course, that was a lie. She intended to give them all the fake information her and Gray gathered. After a while, they would find that out and probably kill her, but at least Gray would be alive and the mission would be saved.

Gray only watched stunned and wide eyed as Juvia offered herself and everything they worked for with an empty, unreadable expression. The criminals thought about it for a while, before one of them smirked, saying that they would have more fun with a woman, anyway, and the others agreed, capturing Juvia. Things seemed bleak before the backup finally arrived, and they rescued Gray and Juvia, both with minor injuries. Gray released his anger on one of the enemies, beating him to a bloody pulp before he was stopped by one of their fellow agents, Natsu.

After staying in their office's headquarters for a while, and after one of their superiors, Jellal, told them that the mission wasn't ruined, as the only ones who knew the real identities of Gray and Juvia were captured, they were released when their medic Wendy confirmed that they didn't sustain any serious injuries.

The return home was horrible – Gray refused to look Juvia in the eye and she was still mad at him for pulling that little stunt of his and locking her up. The secretary, Mirajane, told them that they could spend the night in their old place, but that they would be moving out as soon as possible. Neither uttered a word of complaint. The moment they reached their apartment and were left alone, though, a fight broke out, and now both of them were trying to calm down.

…

After brewing the tea, Juvia let it cool down before entering the living room and putting the tea on the small table. Gray was slumped against the couch, with his head turned to the ceiling and his hands covering his eyes. Juvia sat on the opposite end of the couch, fiddling with the hem of her dress and waiting for Gray to say something. Moments later, he lowered his hands but still refused to look in Juvia's direction.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?", he gritted out bitterly, clenching his fists. Juvia took a breath.

"What was Gray-sama thinking, locking Juvia in?", she calmly asked back, and Gray growled.

" _I was trying to protect you-_ "

"Juvia was doing the same.", she answered, coolly again, and it only agitated Gray more.

"You offered yourself and information in exchange for my life!", he shouted, making Juvia flinch a bit, but she still held her composure. "Do you _realize_ what you did? Do you realize what could have happened?!"

"Juvia never intended to give them the correct information. Juvia-"

"I know that!", he yelled, surprising Juvia. Gray took a shaky breath, trying to lessen his anger, but it didn't help.

"Gray-sama… knew?", Juvia asked, dumbfounded. If he knew that she wasn't going to tell them the truth, then why was he so angry? He _knew_ she did nothing wrong, so then...?

"You were going to sacrifice yourself. For me. You were going to sell your life for mine.", he whispered, shaking from anger and fear and just plain tiredness. "Damn it, Juvia, do you have _any_ idea how that would make me feel? Do you know how damn guilty I'd feel? Do you think I could live with myself knowing you gave your life for me?"

Tears of sorrow and frustration gathered in Juvia's eyes, and she decided she's had enough. She turned over to Gray's side of the couch and grabbed his collar, forcing him to look at her. He stared at her surprised, before Juvia started shouting, not even bothering to wipe the tears falling from her eyes.

"Does Gray only think about himself?", she shouted, leaving out the affectionate suffix she always added to Gray's name. Gray narrowed his eyes, startled by her accusation, and grabbed one of her wrists.

"What the hell? How can you say that?!"

"Because Gray only thinks about how _he'd_ feel if Juvia sacrificed herself for him, or how _he'd_ live with himself. Like Juvia wouldn't feel the same if Gray did the same for her, _which she knows he would_!", she yelled, and Gray couldn't deny the accusations. "Gray is a hypocrite, getting angry at Juvia for doing the same things he does, and which he considers _normal_ , an _obligation_ , something that must be done!", Juvia started shaking him, so Gray grabbed both of her wrists with one of his hands and pinned them to her lap, making Juvia stumble and come within an inch of Gray's face.

" _It's_ _not. The_ _same_.", he said through teeth, burning holes into Juvia with his venomous gaze, but she refused to back down.

"It _is_.", Juvia answered, breathing heavily, but holding Gray's gaze with her own. "Gray locked Juvia to save her, Juvia surrendered herself to save Gray. _The same_.", she breathed out, and Gray shivered.

The intensity of their stares sent fire to both of their souls, and when something suddenly snapped in their eyes, they crashed their lips together in a violent kiss, fighting for dominance. Their lips moved fervently against each other and both refused to back down. They bit and pulled and chewed on, and only after their lungs started burning, screaming for air, did the two of them pull away. They were panting, still gripping one another firmly, and they didn't move away. After a few more moments, when their lungs finally filled with enough air, Juvia let go of Gray and got up, straightening her dress. She looked at Gray again, this time with eyes filled with determination and love, and also a hint of sadness, and that made Gray's heart twist painfully.

"We're in this _together_. You're stuck with me.", she said softly, leaving towards her room. She stopped in front of her door and turned around to see Gray sitting stunned, turned towards her. She smiled softly but bitterly, and entered her room leaving only whispered words.

"You need to realize that."


	12. I'm sorry kiss - Gajuvia

**A/N: I wrote another story for my favorite broship, Gajuvia! :D Even though these were all kiss prompts, I figured it doesn't have to be just for couples, so I decided to write one for Gajeel and Juvia, too! I hope you like this! :)**

Pairing: Gajuvia (broship)

Prompt: I'm sorry kiss

 _-_ _Damn, he's such a good friend. He should get an award for putting up with her!-_

Word count: 1075

* * *

An angry looking man stomped through the empty streets, his upset companion following him in tow. Juvia frantically tried to call out to Gajeel, but the stubborn man refused to listen and continued to ignore her. Quickening his walk, Gajeel kept on sulking, which made Juvia feel even worse than she already felt.

"Ga-Gajeel-kun, slow down, please! Juvia can't walk that fast!", she called out to him, but Gajeel only snorted. "Gajeel-kun!", Juvia tried one more time in desperation, and this time, although the raven-haired man didn't stop, he did slow down a bit, which was a good start. Juvia caught up to him in a few strides, and then turned her head to look at the still sulking face of her friend. Sighing, she started talking to Gajeel again.

"Gajeel-kun… Juvia is really sorry! Juvia didn't mean to do something that upsets Gajeel-kun that much, she swears! It was an accident, and Juvia feels awful for what she did!", she tried apologizing for the umpteenth time already, but it seemed like this time, Gajeel was willing to at least listen to her. He looked at the girl from the corner of his eye, and after a few moments of silence in which Juvia shamefully lowered her head, thinking that Gajeel would never forgive her, he cleared his throat and, though still pouting, he addressed his blue haired friend.

"I know it was an accident. I ain't angry 'cause of that.", he said with a strained voice, while the two sides of him fought over whether he should keep being angry at Juvia and let her suffer a bit (which he felt kind of uncomfortable with – she didn't exactly kill his cat or something similar to be punished like that), or forgive her right away and move on (which he didn't want either, because his pride wouldn't let him). Juvia was confused after hearing what Gajeel said, and frowned while brainstorming for any other reasons Gajeel could be this mad at her. She thought long and hard, but couldn't come across an answer, and that irritated Gajeel. Loosing his patience, he suddenly snapped, startling Juvia.

"You said the suit was hideous!", he shouted at her, and Juvia's eyes widened in realization. Gasping, she covered her mouth with her hands, and guiltily looked at Gajeel.

"G-Gajeel-kun heard that?", she hesitantly asked, peeking at him through her eyelashes. When Gajeel clucked his tongue in response and turned his head away, Juvia's eyes started watering and she suddenly started sobbing and whimpering.

"Do-Don't be m-mad, Gajeel-kun! Juvia… Juvia didn't- didn't mean that!", she cried, and Gajeel groaned in annoyance, not wanting to deal with crying woman (especially crying Juvia), but at the same time knowing that she _did_ mean what she said, she only felt guilty about it and now she was trying to calm him down.

"Stop the waterworks ya damn woman! I know you're lyin'! You didn't like my super cool suit at all and that's why you subconsciously wanted to destroy it!", he declared, pointing his finger at Juvia, and she confusedly looked at it for a few seconds while sniffling, before she broke out crying again and Gajeel smacked his forehead.

"Gajeel-kun is right! Juvia thought that Gajeel-kun's suit was ridiculous! She's sorry!", she bawled out while clinging to Gajeel's arm, and he tried shaking his arm to free himself from her grasp, but it was in vain. He started understanding how the "damn Stripper" felt and he sympathized with him for a bit. Just a bit though.

"Let go of me Juvia, damn it!", Gajeel shouted, but Juvia shook her head.

"No! Juvia won't let go until Gajeel-kun forgives Juvia!", she said, tightening her grip on Gajeel's arm and he could feel the circulation of his blood being cut off. "A-and, Juvia might have thought that the suit wasn't pretty, but she never thought of destroying it, not even in her subconsciousness!"

"Fine, fine, I get it, now let go, for fuck's sake!", Gajeel said while peeling Juvia off his arm, and after several unsuccessful attempts, her finally managed to get her off of him. The girl stared at the ground, sniffing and playing with the hem of her coat, and Gajeel tried to stay angry, but he gave up on it only moments later, and grumpily, while looking at the side he mumbled something.

"Geez, alright. I forgive ya. Now quit lookin' like that, you're driving me nuts.", he said, and when he turned around to look at Juvia, he was left completely dumbfounded, because her eyes were starting to water _again_ and her lower lip was trembling and she looked ready to start crying again at any given moment. Just when he finished his analysis, Juvia threw herself at him with great force, effectively sending both of them to the ground. Gajeel's back hit the ground with a big impact, and he groaned because of the pain, and Juvia's weight, and Juvia's super unpredictable and troublesome behavior.

"For crying out loud, woman, are you trying to kill me or turn my life completely miserable?!", he shouted but was ignored as Juvia snuggled against him. She kept repeating _"Thank you"_ and Gajeel was growing tired of it, and tired of fighting the crazy woman, when all of a sudden he felt something soft press against his cheek, and he was startled (and slightly horrified) to find out that Juvia had just kissed him on the cheek. He was about to yell at her (again), but when he looked at Juvia, she was smiling softly and sincerely, and he couldn't bring himself to tell her anything.

"Juvia really is sorry, Gajeel-kun.", she said and he stared at her dumbstruck before collecting himself and getting up, knocking Juvia along the way. He turned his back on her, but Juvia could still see the side of his face and his ears, which were burning red. She giggled at her friend and slowly got up, brushing off the dust.

"Hurry up you slowpoke, we need to get somewhere, _fast_!", Gajeel said without turning around, and with a smile, Juvia ran so she could catch up with her embarrassed friend, so they could continue their journey.

Meanwhile, the red-faced Gajeel marched ahead, thinking that he was an awesome friend, and that he should get a reward for putting up with the woman's silly antics. Actually, he should get a reward for putting up with her _at all_.


	13. I almost lost you kiss - Gruvia

**A/N: This is a continuation of the secret agents AU (the angry kiss prompt), but I guess you don't have to read the first part to understand this one (although it would be better). All you need to know is that Juvia and Gray are secret agents who are working on a long mission to capture a businessman who's actually a criminal, seven weeks prior this story they had sort of a screw up and fought, resulting in them kissing (angrily) and now here they are.**

 **Yup, it might be better if you read the prequel as well. Also, this story has a microscopic mention of Jerza. Just for the heads up.**

 **(And the names and surnames of the bad guys were pulled out of my head, sorry they sound stupid ;) :D)**

Pairing: Gruvia

Prompt: I almost lost you kiss

 _-"Remember now, you're stuck with me - you said so yourself."-_

Word count: 2899

* * *

After the incident that had happened seven weeks ago, the relationship between Juvia and Gray had somewhat changed. Although subtle, the changes (especially in Gray's behavior) were obvious. The day after their sudden burst of emotions and their shared kiss, they decided it would be for the best to act as if nothing had happened, so they wouldn't risk their mission. But now, seven weeks later, both were at their wits' ends – and something was bound to happen.

As fate would have it, they received and information that another chance for the capture of their criminal would appear exactly two months after their first try, in a bit more than a week. The preparations this time were even more hectic – they had already failed once, and they became suspicious. If they failed again, the entire year they spent working hard to gather intel would be in vain, and their mission would be a failure.

That week, Gray and Juvia forgot about the "problems" between them, because they were too busy preparing the plan of the attack. They both acted professionally, putting aside all of their conflicting and confusing feelings. However, it was clear to them both that, after the end of that night (which would determine if they succeeded or failed), they would have to talk about everything. There would be no more shoving things under the carpet. Just him and her – Gray and Juvia, and their bare feelings on display.

Juvia only prayed that they would survive long enough to get to that talk.

…

"Suspect number one, the secretary, Miss Philann, eleven o'clock. Talking with a potential buyer, Mister Jones.", Gray reported while sipping his champagne, hands in his pockets and eyes observing the entire hall. On the other side of his mini communicating device, Mirajane was sitting by a computer, following the happenings with several cameras that Gray and Juvia secretly put.

"Very well, I see them. Juvia, what about your side of the hall?", she inquired, and a woman with blue hair lightly touched her elegant earrings, before bringing her ring to her lips.

"Drener Caves, just in front of the doors. Marisha Neval right next to him.", she said, and lowered her hand just to raise it to her mouth again so she could pretend to drink wine. "They are whispering about something. Juvia believes they are talking about the transaction."

"Yes, of course.", Mirajane nodded, then typed something out on her computer. "I'm sending information to our superiors. Erza and the squad are a block away from you. If anything should happen, Juvia, please press the red code button."

Gray smirked thinking how Juvia was currently pouting, saying that _"She knows, Mirajane told her multiple times already"_ , but the smirk soon vanished as he was reminded why Mira kept reprimanding her about that. This mission was dangerous – they were sheep in the wolves' den, and had no one to rely on, but each other. Gray observed his side of the grand hall for a few more moments, before he told Mira that he was joining Juvia. Mira agreed with his decision, and so, Gray proceeded to meet with his partner, or how everybody else thought, his _wife_.

Just as he was coming closer to her, he noticed several people approaching her, and decided to increase his step in order to reach her faster. As Juvia noticed him from the corner of his eye, Gray could see the relief she felt, and he would be lying if he said he didn't feel the same.

"Darling, you're here! I was afraid you might have gotten lost somewhere!", Juvia said, with the foreign accent she had practiced for a long time. Gray smiled at her and raised her hand to kiss her knuckles, hearing the small gasp that left Juvia's lips.

"Forgive me, dearest, I was admiring the decorations. Mister Fray sure has a great taste.", he said, smiling politely, and sneaking an arm around Juvia's waist. She kept her composure, but inside she was burning.

"Mister Surge, finally we see you!", a man in his late forties said, laughing heartily. "I've always wanted to meet the young investor who climbed to the top so fast in person. Believe me, all those emails and letters meant nothing – one can only truly get to know someone in person!", he laughed, patting Gray's shoulder. Gray felt uncomfortable but kept quiet.

"And your wife, ah, she is a treasure. May I say, I haven't seen such a beautiful girl in a long while, ey, Missus Annabel!", he winked at Juvia and she blushed, but recovered herself fairly quickly.

"You flatter me too much.", she said, and she and Gray talked with the man for a few more minutes before excusing themselves and returning to scouting out the enemy.

"Man, that guy talks a _lot_. Can't he stop for like, two minutes?", Gray groaned, slipping out of his character. Juvia giggled.

"Juvia thinks he was a very polite gentleman. She feels sorry for him, being scammed by that awful Mister Fray.", she said and frowned, then sadly shook her head.

"I don't mean to interrupt your chit-chat, but I believe it would be better if you returned to your roles, _Chares, Annabel_.", Mira reminded them, and they stopped talking.

The party prolonged a lot more than Gray and Juvia had expected, which led them to believe that Fray had encountered some problems. They believed it had something to do with their computer expert, Levy, and smirked when Mira confirmed their suspicions – the girl sent a virus to Fray's computer which was used for the selling. As everyone was too busy talking to each other, dancing, or something else, Gray and Juvia slowly snuck out of the grand hall, avoiding Fray's associates Drener and Marisha who seemed to be on a lookout, and headed towards his study, where they received information that valuable documents were. Mira carefully guided them, telling them to look out and not to drop their guard.

"The door's locked.", Gray complained, but Juvia smirked and took a pin out of her hair.

"Leave it to Ju- me.", she said, and Gray moved away. Juvia unlocked the door, and the carefully snuck inside, watching out for any traps or alarms.

"We've entered the study room. We're looking for the documents."

"Third drawer on the left – that's where the key and the code to the safe are. The safe is hidden by the-"

"Books, we know. Levy told us some time ago.", Gray said, finishing his report to Mira.

"Juvia found the key and the code.", she said and Gray nodded, heading towards the bookshelf. Mumbling to himself, he calculated something then pulled out several books to reveal a small metal safe. He called Juvia over and she unlocked the safe, finding the documents they were looking for. In a state of happiness, Gray and Juvia looked at each other with big grins on their faces, satisfied with their success, but the worried voice of Mira called them back to reality and reminded them that nothing was over yet.

"Red alert, guys! Fray is on his way to you – it seems he found out spies infiltrated!"

Juvia fumbled with the safe and put it back to its original place as Gray returned the key and code. They hastily left the room, heading for the back door – the emergency exit – as Juvia clutched the documents that would prove Fray's criminal activities. They quickly exited into the garden and were about to leave as a shot was fired into their direction and they stopped in their tracks, looking around them. Twenty to thirty men surrounded them, and Gray mentally calculated their chances to escape as Juvia pressed the stone on her ring, calling for more backup. They pressed back to back and pulled out their weapons, pointing them at their enemies.

"Well, well, well. Congratulations. You're the first ones to actually get a hold of those documents.", a middle aged man, who was known as Fray commented. "Truly remarkable, Charles and Annabel Surge. Or should I say, _Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser_.", he said, his face gaining a dark look, and a shiver run down Juvia's spine, evoking a bad feeling inside of her. Just as he ordered his men to open a fire, Juvia and Gray's backup arrived, and they used that chance to run for cover.

"Damn it, get me those documents!", Fray yelled angrily, but everyone was too busy fighting.

"Shit, we gotta get out of here!", Gray said, while shooting from his gun. "We gotta take those documents to Jellal-"

"Juvia _knows_.", she silenced him, and they proceeded to run towards their transportation while shooting at the same time.

"Gray! Juvia!", a red haired woman shouted as she neared the two.

"Erza!", Gray said, and then Erza joined the two, fighting off the guys who surrounded them.

"Where are the documents?", Erza asked.

"In Juvia's bag!", she yelled and then yelped, as a bullet just barely missed her. Next to her, she heard Gray curse over and over again, but she couldn't blame him. They _were_ in a huge mess, after all.

"We need to get them to safety! Juvia, hand me the bag!", Erza yelled as the three went to get into cover.

As Juvia did what Erza said, Gray nervously breathed.

"Damn, let's finish this already!"

Erza smiled and Juvia weakly giggled, too tired and afraid to do anything else. The adrenalin coursing through her veins was slowly disappearing, leaving her exhausted. Erza noticed this and warned Juvia not to relax just yet, but all Juvia did was nod, and Erza eyed her suspiciously for some time before Gray yelled at them to get moving because they've been found.

To Juvia, the rest was all a blur. She was barely aware of her surroundings, of the shots and the yelling and people coming her way. She saw Erza get into a helicopter, together with the documents, and everyone else retreating – which relieved her immensely. She saw Gray yell something to her, she saw his frightened face, but she didn't understand a thing.

Next thing she knew, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

And after that, it was dark.

…

As Gray set next to Juvia's hospital bed, the third day in a row, he blankly stared at the woman in front of him. He had tired, bloodshot eyes and he was messy. Their friends visited in and out, but Gray barely registered everything. The only one he clearly remembered coming was Gajeel, who silently entered the room. He said nothing as he watched his long time friend's pale face and the tubes coming out of her, nor did he comment something to the drained man that sat next to her. He just patted Gray's shoulder and said _"She'll wake up"_. The two man sat in silence before Gajeel had to leave.

Gray didn't react when he noticed Juvia slightly stirring, believing it to be his imagination. However, when Juvia opened her eyed and weakly called out to him, he snapped out of his daze and called the nurses.

When they examined her and told Gray that she was alright and recovering, Gray numbly nodded and then asked to be left alone with her.

For a long time Gray and Juvia just stared at each other, not saying anything, and then Juvia softly smiled and giggled, inviting a smirk on Gray's face.

"It's been about time for you to wake up.", Gray joked, leaning his head on his hand, and Juvia weakly giggled again.

"Gray-sama looks awful."

"You're the one to tell."

The silence returned once more, but this time, they both gazed at each other fondly. Gray reached with one of his arms and grabbed one of hers, and Juvia squeezed with as much force as she could muster.

"The mission…-", she started but Gray was faster.

"Everything's okay. We did it. Erza gave the documents to Jellal – probably got her _reward_ for that - ", Gray winked, joking at the account of Erza and Jellal's not-so-secret secret relationship, prompting Juvia to laugh, "and that bastard is behind the bars now. We have evidence against his partners, too. You have nothing to worry about."

Juvia squirmed a bit and then guiltily looked at Gray.

"Juvia's sorry. She should have been more careful.", she said, looking Gray in the eyes, and he didn't look away, instead he held her gaze.

"Yes, you should have.", he replied, with an unreadable face, but just as Juvia was about to say something else, he continued. "But you were tired, I understand. And the mission was pretty dangerous. Things like this are bound to happen.", Gray said, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, only to look at Juvia again. Something in the way he looked at her now, though, made Juvia blush slightly.

"Gray-sama…", she whispered, asking million questions, which he decided to answer.

"Two months ago", he started and Juvia knew right away what he was going to talk about, "you and I both did stupid things that led us to some sort of revelation. At least, they led me.", he said, and he gained a serious expression, and his eyes became focused on her own. Then, just like that, he told Juvia the words she never believed would leave his mouth.

"I love you."

Juvia's face turned extremely red, but not a speck of it grazed Gray's cheeks. He stayed serious, and that made Juvia afraid of what he was going to say next. Recognizing her fear, Gray squeezed her hand, and Juvia relaxed, if only a bit.

"Naturally, I was confused. I didn't know how or when it happened, but it did. Of course, I don't think I love you as much as you love me, but I know I've never romantically loved anyone more than you. And that freaked me out. You know why I joined this agency – I wanted to protect as many people as I could. I lost too many of those I cared about, Juvia, and I didn't want to feel so helpless anymore. That's why, not only did I decide to become stronger, but I also decided to shut my heart away. I believed it was the best solution."

Juvia stayed quiet, waiting for Gray to continue, but then he suddenly laughed through his nose and confused Juvia.

"Of course, I chose the worst possible agency for that. People in here just can't leave anyone alone, can they? Everybody sticks their nose where it doesn't belong.", he said, and Juvia had to giggle at that, because there was no denying it was true. Gray smirked at her and lightly hit her shoulder.

"Don't laugh, you're the worst one. Just couldn't let me be, could you?", he teased and Juvia blushed, stammering apologies, but Gray just smiled softly. Then his expression turned dark and Juvia became worried again.

"I almost lost you.", he said seriously, quietly but loud enough for those words to resonate in Juvia's ears. She frowned, and wanted to say something, _anything_ , but she didn't know what.

"You know, after I realized I loved you I figured that the best solution was to pretend that wasn't true, and to distance myself from you. When the mission was over, I decided, I would leave immediately.", Gray confessed and Juvia hit him, but he just laughed.

"I deserve that."

"Gray-sama does."

"But you know -", he started, lowering so his face was only an inch away from Juvia's, "- I decided that was a bad idea. A stupid idea. 'Cause you're really reckless so you'd get into trouble whether I was there or not. And I'd feel better if you were by my side."

Juvia inhaled shakily, feeling happiness bubble inside of her but trying to suppress that feeling, because she didn't want to be disappointed. Carefully, she asked a question, unconsciously changing her gaze to Gray's lips. Gray did the same.

"Does… Does that mean… _What_ does that mean?"

Instead of answering her, Gray captured her lips with his and Juvia melted at the blissful feeling as she wrapped her arms around Gray's neck. Gray caressed Juvia's cheek with one hand while he used the other to balance himself on the bed. This kiss was very different from their previous kiss, which was aggressive, raw and passionate. This kiss was gentle, soft, slow and full of care. It said thousands of things they could never explain with words, and it gave both of them reassurance. They almost lost their chance – but now, they both knew better.

As Gray pulled away he smirked at Juvia's dazed face, and then bumped their foreheads together. Juvia rubbed at the spot, pouting and complaining that _"it hurts"_ , but Gray knew she was only joking so to agitate her a bit more he ruffled her hair.

"Remember now, _you're stuck with me_. You said so yourself. No turning back, you're gonna have to accept all my flaws and everything.", he said with an affectionate voice, and Juvia took his hand and kissed it, then caressed his knuckles with her thumb.

"Juvia is more concerned about how Gray is going to accept _her_ flaws.", she winked, and Gray laughed, already knowing that his life would become very hectic and interesting, but he'd have it no other way.

"I'm gonna think of something."


	14. Jealous kiss - Edo Gruvia

**A/N: So, to the people that didn't watch anime, Michelle that is mentioned here was in a filler arc in the anime, and since I didn't wanna wrack my brain making an OC character, I decided to use _her_ , though I guess she _is_ an OC in some way, cause Edo Michelle never existed, but oh well. It's not that important.**

 **Anyway, please enjoy Edo Juvia and her slowly boiling jealousy. ;)**

Pairing: Edo Gruvia

Prompt: Jealous kiss

 _-_ _With her lack of patience, it was a miracle she didn't snap earlier.-_

Word count: 1040

* * *

She was never the type that was very much tolerant or patient, but the scene in front of her tested her nerves more than usual. Really, that girl seemed to be jumping on every single nerve Juvia had _on purpose_. Come on, she wasn't stupid, it was obvious – every time the little annoyance got close to Gray she'd shoot Juvia a look full of confidence and mockery, and Juvia had long ago reached her boiling point. The only reason the girl's brain wasn't currently smeared across the floor and her blood used as wine was the fact that, well, Gray and Juvia were _secretly_ dating. And in order for it to stay a secret, Juvia could do nothing but stand on the side and throw imaginary daggers at the bitch who dared _mock_ her.

And that spineless idiot, too! How could he let that girl flirt with him and be all touchy feely?! Didn't he… Didn't he _love_ Juvia or something? The blue haired girl's cheeks turned slightly red from the thoughts that crossed her mind and a small vein started appearing on her forehead – this was all that stupid Gray's fault. Why in hell were they here anyway? So it was Lucy's birthday, big deal. They could have just sent her a card that said "Happy Birthday" and they'd be done and over with it. It wasn't as if she was the king, or the queen or whatever so they had to come to her birthday. And seriously, what kind of friends did the blonde have? Judging by the annoying little pest that was _still_ clinging to Gray (yes, he looked awesome when he shed a few layers, blah, blah, _it wasn't for her to watch_!), she could think a bit harder next time she decided to befriend someone.

When Juvia realized that she was already on her third glass of vodka, and that the incident from some time ago, when Gray had to carry her drunken ass home might repeat itself, she decided to slow down with drinking. She didn't want to be dragged back to her apartment by that good for nothing _boyfriend_ of hers, while talking nonsense and maybe spilling a secret or two along the way. Seriously, that was _exactly_ how she had gotten herself into this mess in the first place.

As she was too busy imagining all sorts of ways to kill someone and make it look like an accident, Juvia didn't notice the smirking blonde birthday girl coming her way.

"Are we having fun?", Lucy teased, and Juvia finally snapped out of her… _daydreams_. She clucked her tongue at the blonde and downed the glass of alcohol in her hands, forgetting about her previous decision to go easy with drinking.

" _Happy Birthday_ , Lucy.", she replied bitterly, sending a sour smile to the blonde. Lucy barked out at the expression, which only made Juvia frown deeper. Lucy asked for a can of beer which she got right away, and leaned on the table, next to Juvia, following her line of sight.

"Oh, do you see something that's bothering you?", Lucy asked with a fake innocent expression, prompting Juvia to growl.

"Not at all.", she said through gritted teeth, and her grip on the empty glass tightened.

"Oh, well, you shouldn't be worried, anyway. Michelle's just the type that likes flirting, so you can rest assured that nothing serious will happen between them.", Lucy continued, wanting to test Juvia's limits by pressing her buttons. " _Besides_ , there's no reason for you to be _worried_ , anyway. Because you don't give a _damn_ about Gray, _right_?", she taunted, and was satisfied to notice a vein popping on Juvia's head. Juvia closed her eyes, trying to calm down because she wouldn't want to punch Lucy on her birthday, of all days.

"Damn right.", she curtly replied, while thinking of anything that would help cool her down, and she almost succeeded, but she made a mistake of opening her eyes and witnessing a flustered Gray weakly trying to escape the girl (apparently her name was _Michelle_ ), who was now openly trying to kiss him.

All of Juvia's patience ran thin, and she used up all of her reserves, so without a moment of hesitation, she stomped towards the unsuspecting couple and yanked the confused and pretty much tired boy out of the startled girl's hands. Lucy watched with a satisfied smile on her face, inviting Natsu to stand next to her and watch the scene unfold.

"Listen here, _missy_ ", Juvia started and all of the eyes were now on her, "the entire night I had to sit by and watch you make gooey eyes at this moron here (" _Juvia-chaan!"_ ), get a little bit too familiar with him, and flirt, in a rather pathetic way, if I may add. Although it's not your fault that the no-spine here didn't know how to reject you, he's a loser like that ( _"Juvia-chan, really!"_ )."

She took a deep breath to regain the air she lost in the last few seconds, and also to mentally prepare for the humiliation she was about to expose herself.

"But _anyway_ , this guy here is _my_ loser, and I would very much appreciate it if you stopped trying to stick your tongue down his throat, 'cause that's _my_ privilege, thank you.", she finished, and Gray didn't even have the time to fully process what she had said because Juvia was already proving her claim by kissing him in the middle of the room while pretty much everyone who came to the party was looking at them. Not wanting to stay for the onslaught of questions and other troublesome things, Juvia dragged a dazed Gray towards the door muttering a _"Let's go"_ to him.

"Have a great time! Happy birthday, you idiot blonde mastermind!", she yelled as she left the room, and the others stayed in silence for a few moments before erupting into cheers and celebrating.

"Geez, I was found out? Bummer.", Lucy said with a grin on her face, and then she hugged her little helper. "Thanks, Michelle. You're an awesome actress."

"Anything for you, Lucy.", she winked and soon the two were surrounded by confused onlookers who wanted to know _what in the world_ just happened.


	15. Seductive kiss - Jerza

**A/N: _Heavily_ influenced by the song Deathbeds by BMTH (which I suggest you play at least in the background while reading to this, but you know, you don't have to). The more I listened to that song the more I felt it was very Jerza-like, especially when I remember the kiss/almost kiss scene. Soo, I just had this one part in my head and I couldn't get it out, and that part turned into this songfic drabble which, as always, I hope you enjoy. It also fell under one of the prompts, so I decided to use it... :D**

Pairing: Jerza

Prompt: Seductive kiss

 _-_ _Salt my wounds but I can't heal the way I feel about you.-_

Word count: 716 (678 without the song lyrics)

* * *

 _That little kiss you stole_

 _It held my heart and soul_

 _And like a deer in the headlights I meet my fate_

 _Don't try to fight the storm_

 _You'll tumble overboard_

 _Tides will bring me back to you_

Bring Me the Horizon - Deathbeds

* * *

He tried to forget her but it seemed impossible. Her shining brown eyes and passionate scarlet hair haunted his dreams and he couldn't escape. She pulled him into her game but he was to blame as well. How could a man be so weak? How could she control him with so little effort, how could she hijack his life and make it hers? Because from that moment, he knew he lived for her, his every breath belonged to her, every heartbeat was hers and anything she asked from him – she would have.

He fought so hard against that. _(It's all so_ wrong _.)_

But this pathetic little man he was, he couldn't, just couldn't erase her existence from his veins, taking over his body. All around him he saw red, red, _red_ like the color of her hair and the blood he'd gladly spill for her. Red like the color of the dying sun that made them turn to sin and forget about the consequences. Red like the color of her lips that greedily kissed his, waking every cell in his body, pulling him deeper and deeper still till he couldn't escape the tides that brought him back to her time and time again.

He ran, ran, ran, but he couldn't get away.

She stole everything that belonged to him and he let her, too numb to try and stop her.

 _He should have tried._

He'd still lose.

 _At least he wouldn't have given up._

What difference would it make, anyway?

 _(He was just a helpless deer caught in her headlights.)_

He was captured long ago, she enslaved him from the beginning and there was _no other choice_ for him. He'd continue on, forever, on the path that she decided for him, from the moment her burning lips touched his. She seduced him, so easily, she brought him to his knees without even trying.

Was she the devil incarnate?

No, no, she was the purest of angels but he was the one who tainted her. She was the light of the sun and the moon and the stars but he was the clouds that covered her, not allowing her light to shine on anyone else but _him_.

Him alone.

He was the one who stole everything from _her_.

He was the culprit. She was the victim. He made her sin, _yes_ , it was him who had turned her into a sinner. It was him who messed with her head and made her believe that they were meant for each other. Too late did he realize that he didn't deserve her, because she decided _she would have him_ , she would capture him, by force if necessary. Why, why, _why_ did he allow himself something so wrong as to love her? Why did he let her realize his feelings? Why didn't he run away? _Why didn't she run away?_

Why was their love so messed up like that, why was it heaven and hell at the same time, why were they both angels and demons, why couldn't their story be simple?

He thought so hard, he searched so restlessly for a way out, for a ticket out of this disaster for both him and her, but he couldn't find it. Eventually he stopped trying to save himself and decided to suffer _alone_ , whilst still looking for salvation for her. _(He would disappear.)_

She wouldn't have it.

If he was to drown in the whirlpool of their sinful love then she would drown with him, letting the waves pull her under.

 _Into his embrace._

She'd suffer alongside him, because as much as he was to blame, so was she. It was either both of their fault, or no one's fault at all.

So he could try and run away, escape from the woman he would never deserve.

She'd chase after him, certain that what she was doing was, in no way, wrong.

 _(Because that little kiss she stole from him gave her soul to him, and took his soul for her. And now, they could not be without the other. Ever.)_

* * *

P.S.: I'd really appreciate a review, if you don't mind. :)


	16. Giggly kiss - Gruvia

**A/N: Just a few more stories to write, good luck, me!**

Pairing: Gruvia

Prompt: Giggly kiss

 _-_ _"Stop_ laughing _, it's not_ funny _!"-_

Word count: 987

* * *

"Stop _laughing_ , it's not _funny_!", Gray said, red from embarrassment, as he and Juvia were returning from a mission. The girl tried to stifle her laughter, but she ended up laughing even louder, and Gray groaned as he buried his face in his hands.

"Aw, Gray-sama! But Juvia thought Gray-sama was adorable!", Juvia cooed, still giggling. Gray peeked through his hands and looked at her from the corner of his eye, then pouted and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He mumbled something incoherently, which prompted Juvia to stop laughing (after several long minutes), and look at Gray with a slightly worried expression.

"Is Gray-sama angry?", she asked, but before her confused companion could ask her why would he be angry, she entered her imaginary world and started panicking. "Oh god, Juvia made Gray-sama angry! What should she do? How could she apologize? Juvia never meant to make Gray-sama angry, Juvia just really thought that Gray-sama was cute and that's why she was laughing, but that obviously made him angry, _oh no_ , now Gray-sama won't ever talk to Juvia again, even worse he won't want to see her, and…", she kept blabbering, not even listening to Gray anymore, who was desperately trying to return her to the real world.

"Oy, Juvia, it's not like that, c'mon, listen to me, hey!", he tried to call out to her, but she was too deeply engrossed into her imagination, so Gray had to find a different approach. He stood in front of her, grabbed her shoulders and lightly shook her, which finally snapped Juvia out of her daydream (or in this case, nightmare).

"Juvia! Listen! I'm not mad at you, okay? So stop whichever films you're playing in your head!", Gray said, and Juvia blinked several times. She slowly raised her eyes towards Gray's, and he felt a bit of warmth creep up his neck and ears.

"Gray-sama… isn't mad?", she asked, tentatively, as if she was a bit confused, but also very relieved.

"No, well, I'm not _really-_ ", Gray tried to say, but Juvia jumped on him before he could finish his sentence, effectively bringing both of them to the ground. Gray struggled beneath her, trying to get up and peel her off of him, but Juvia's grip was too tight and she refused to let go. She snuggled into him, and after moments of fighting, Gray gave up moving. Juvia was like quick sand – the more you struggled, the more she'd take a hold of you. So Gray just lay there, waiting for Juvia to calm down before he could finally get up and regain his freedom.

Juvia started sobbing out of relief, and even though Gray knew those weren't sad tears, he didn't know how to deal with them. Or that was how it used to be, but now, after spending so much time with Juvia, the mage whose body was literally _made out of water_ , and whose tear reservoir never seemed to dry out, Gray learned that the best solution was to let the woman cry herself out. As Juvia's sniffling subsided, Gray slowly raised himself and the water woman up.

"Ju-Juvia's s-so happy that G-Gray-sama isn't angry! Juvia d-doesn't know what she would d-do if Gray-sama was a-angry!", she said, honestly glad, and Gray sighed before offering a small smile to the woman in his arms and ruffling her hair.

"Like I would get mad for something that stupid! Sheesh!"

"B-but, Gray-sama muttered something under his breath…", Juvia murmured, and Gray stiffened a bit. He relaxed a moment later, though, and with a tint of pink on his cheeks he told her what he had said that time.

"I said that it was your fault…", Gray said but regretted that right away when he saw Juvia's eyes starting to water again.

"S-So, Gray-sama _really is_ angry!", she said, starting to sob again, and Gray frantically waved his hands around.

"No, no, I was just p-pouting a bit, I wasn't angry! I was just a bit… _cross_ that you were laughing, but nothing serious!", he tried to convince her, but Juvia eyed him skeptically.

"But you said it was _Juvia's_ fault. What exactly _was_ Juvia's fault?", she asked, and Gray sweated a bit, but after a long sigh and a big blush, he decided to tell her.

"…'S 'cause you looked like you were flirting with him…", he said quietly while rubbing his neck, and Juvia blinked a few times before she processed what Gray said, and then burst into laughter once again, while Gray looked a bit hurt.

"H-hey!", he complained, but Juvia threw herself at him (once again) while giggling, and Gray shut up.

"Gray-sama thought Juvia was flirting? That was why he embarrassed himself like that? No, no, no", she shook her head, "Juvia was just chatting with our client. But it's nice to know that Juvia isn't the only one to get jealous.", she teased, and Gray averted his eyes while clicking his tongue, prompting Juvia to giggle some more. She took a hold of his face and turned it around, then started planting sloppy kisses all over him, too busy giggling. Gray weakly struggled and complained, before he finally gave in and started chuckling as well, and so the two started a silly battle of sloppily kissing one another while laughing. Eventually they started kissing on the lips, but as neither could stop giggling, chuckling and smiling, that turned out to be quite silly as well.

After they finally remembered that they should get up from the ground, they stopped kissing and Juvia got up, helping Gray up as well. She then immediately seized his arm, but instead of complaining, Gray fondly shook his head and let her hold onto him.

"Damn, you're turning me into an idiot."

Juvia just giggled at that, leaning her head onto his shoulder and they continued walking with smiles on their faces.


	17. Sad kiss - Lyvia

**A/N: Inspiration drawn from two songs - Separate Ways by Journey and Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word by Elton John and Blue. I'm almost done with this fic collection, yay!**

Pairing: Lyvia

Prompt: Sad kiss

 _-_ _"What I've got to do, to make you love me?"-_

Word count: 816 (767 without the lyrics)

* * *

 _Some day, love will find you_

 _Break those chains that bind you_

 _One night will remind you_

 _How we touched_

 _And went our separate ways_

Journey - Separate Ways

* * *

From the beginning, he knew her heart belonged to the one he considered both a family and a rival. Still, Lyon couldn't help but fall blindly, strongly and stupidly in love with Juvia, the extraordinaire and kind girl. She always made it clear, though, that the only one she loved was Gray and that her feelings were unwavering. But the same way she loved him, Lyon loved her. He would have given anything just for her to grace him with the look full of love she always sent Gray's way.

Lyon sometimes thought Gray was a cold-hearted bastard. Stupid, as well. Because, to reject such great affection from a girl like Juvia surely meant that there were a few screws loose, or maybe even missing, from his idiot "brother's" head. Or at least, that's what he _wanted_ to believe. But Lyon knew Gray too well for that. He knew Gray wasn't cold, or unreachable. He might be harder to get then others, but inside his soul, he was a warm and kind, awkward man. That kindness left Lyon in agony. She knew it existed – Juvia knew it from the moment she met Gray, and because of that, Lyon never even had a _chance_.

Whenever she'd cry, broken-hearted because of something that Gray had said or done, Lyon would hope that his time might be nearing. But just as soon as she'd fall into despair she'd climb back from it, wounded, but not broken. With more strength and stronger will than before. Juvia would look so magnificent, picking herself up from the ground that Lyon would be falling for her harder and harder. It was ironic, really, that the more Juvia loved Gray, the more Lyon loved Juvia. They were stuck in a vicious circle draining them over and over, but neither backed down. Simply because they couldn't – they couldn't fall out of love. If falling for someone was hard, getting over them was even harder. And in a way, it left a bitter feeling in a person's soul.

Lyon tried to be understanding. He did his best to shut his feelings away and keep them locked up, but they were simply too strong for him to fight them. Juvia, that beautiful girl with skin pale like moonlight, eyes clear like the summer sky and hair like the waves of the ocean, held his soul and he could only bow down to her wishes. But she, she was _never_ cruel. Oh, she respected him too much to try and abuse him. He was dear to her, so dear, a precious friend she wouldn't change for the world. In a way, he was her soulmate. She didn't love him, but in _him_ she could see _herself_. She saw all those years of loneliness spent resenting and regretting, trying to find salvation but looking in the wrong places, only to be saved _by the same man_. Loving, loving so deeply that it tore their souls and hearts and left them hurting, but still refusing to let go. Looking for a sign.

Not getting one.

If only she returned his affections, their situation would have been so much different. But that was just wishful thinking of an ideal scenario which couldn't happen.

… _Once, though…_

In a moment of her weakness and his despair, their souls connected in an intimate way. They kissed, and through that kiss they poured out all of their frustrations. The kiss was bitter, tainted by Juvia's wishes to escape her sorrow and Lyon's greedy desire to make her his. It was pathetic, pitiful, but not meaningless. It helped them reach the truth behind everything.

They, for all their efforts and sacrifices, couldn't be together.

Juvia loved another man and Lyon couldn't help her forget about him, and Lyon wanted Juvia to love him like he loved her, which she couldn't fulfill.

In the end, one word could perfectly describe both their kiss and their situation.

 _Sad_.

After that one kiss they shared, Lyon and Juvia agreed to never tell anyone about it, and to preserve their friendship – both meant too much to the other to begin avoiding one another. They parted with small, broken smiles, and feelings of regret that it didn't work out. Juvia continued loving Gray and hoping to move his heart and get at least a bit of attention, and Lyon continued loving Juvia, but this time, from the shadows.

He wowed, though, that if Gray ever hurt her, he'd be there. Fighting again, for as long as his heart still beat for her. For as long as his love was true.

* * *

 _If he, ever hurts you_

 _True love won't desert you_

 _You know, I still love you_

 _Though we touched_

 _And went our separate ways_


	18. Good morning kiss - Jerza

**A/N: Well, I'm nearing the end and yet I'm stuck with this writer's block and have no idea what to write... Geez, that sucks. But I'll power through, somehow, I hope...**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! :)**

Pairing: Jerza

Prompt: Good morning kiss

 _-_ _He'll destroy her insecurities the way she destroyed his.-_

Word count: 825

* * *

When the gentle morning rays of sun woke Erza up, and in the bed next to her she didn't see the man she fell asleep with last night, an alarm went off in her head. For a moment, she went back to the time when the two of them couldn't be together, and since she was still half asleep, she almost believed that all the time they had spent together was nothing but a figment of her imagination, a beautiful world which she conjured up in her dreams. But then she heard soft humming and water running from the bathroom, and the weight on her chest disappeared. She smiled softly and laid back on the bed, deciding to close her eyes for a while more while she waited for her lover to come out of bathroom.

As Jellal entered the bedroom, shaking his hear to dry it up a bit, the corners of his lips twisted up, and he smiled at the sight of his beloved one lying on the bed, the sheets kicked off. He silently snuck up to the bed and lovingly nuzzled Erza's hair. She laughed a bit, raising her head to look at him, and he sent her a grin that made her heart soar.

"Good morning.", he whispered, caressing her scarlet tresses, and she giggled, still drowsy, and hid her face into the pillow. Jellal chuckled at the notion, and after a few moments, Erza carefully peeked out, to find Jellal kneeling on the floor, leaned against the bed, still looking at her with great affection in his eyes. Erza felt her cheeks burn, but she returned the gaze.

"…Good morning.", she mumbled shyly, and Jellal laughed at her cuteness, before he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. The kiss was soft and chaste, and Jellal pulled away after only a moment, but it was enough to send fire through Erza's veins, and she closed her eyes, trying to soak up the feeling. She then remembered how she woke up thinking their life together was a dream, and she opened her eyes, wanting to see Jellal. The sudden sadness in Erza's eyes made him frown, and he sat on the bed next to Erza, as she sat up as well.

"Erza, what is it? What happened? Are you feeling unwell?", he asked, concerned, and Erza just shook her head softly, looking down. Jellal frowned again, dissatisfied with her reaction, and cupped her cheek in order to raise her head. Erza leaned into the touch, and her eyes fluttered close as Jellal gently caressed her with his thumb. He then brought their foreheads together, and Erza sighed in content at their proximity. They stayed that way, in silence, for some time, before Erza decided to admit what was bothering her.

"You weren't there.", she whispered, and Jellal pulled away to look at her, puzzled. Seeing his expression, Erza continued talking, trying to explain herself better. "When I woke up, you weren't there, and I got scared, because I thought that us being together was just a dream.", she said, sorrow laced through her voice and it pained Jellal to see her like that, so vulnerable and afraid. He kissed the top of her head, then her forehead, and then he hugged her tightly, and Erza returned the hug.

"I'm here. It's not a dream. I'm here.", he comforted her, looking out the window, where the sun rose higher and higher. "I know that sometimes, it's hard to believe, but I'm here. There are times when I get insecure as well, thinking that I don't deserve this, or that surely, something bad was bound to happen now that I'm this happy, but when I look at you, and when I see your smile, I know everything is going to be okay. You destroy all my doubts and insecurities, all of my fears, and that's why, I want to do the same for you."

He moved away to look at Erza's, now tear-stained, face, and wearing a soft smile, he gently wiped those tears away. Erza offered him a small smile and squeezed one of his hands, and Jellal took her other hand and kissed her knuckles.

"Whenever you're feeling like this, whenever it crosses your mind that _we_ are just an illusion, call me. Tell me everything, and I'll prove to you that all of this is _real_. What we have is real. What we _are_ is real. And together we will fight for it, and we won't let anyone or anything get in our way anymore. Okay?", he asked, and Erza nodded.

"Okay."

Jellal smiled at her and she smiled back, and then he got up from the bed, heading towards the door.

"I'm going to make breakfast now, you go refresh yourself.", he said, and Erza laughed and answered _"Okay"_ , then left for the bathroom, preparing to start another beautiful day together with her friends and her lover.

* * *

P.S.: _Please_ leave a review, no matter how short. It would still mean a lot to me! :)


	19. Kiss on the nose - Gruvia

**A/N: That feeling when you realize half of the vacation passed and you've done nothing but sit (or in my case, lay) around in your room.**

 **But on a brighter note, I want to thank those who reviewed my stories! You made my days. :) I love you!**

Pairing: Gruvia

Prompt: Kiss on the nose

 _-_ _"Gray-sama... k-kissed Juvia? On the nose?"-_

Word count: 859

* * *

To Juvia Lockser, that morning started as any other. She got up early, before her boyfriend that was still snoring lightly. With a shy smile on her face, she softly kissed him on the cheek and went to the bathroom to perform her morning rituals. After cleaning and refreshing herself nicely, she proceeded to drink her regular coffee on the terrace, while enjoying the soft rays of sun that painted the view. When she finished drinking her coffee, she took out the ingredients for the breakfast she would make, and started preparing the food.

Now, usually, at that time, Gray Fullbuster would still be sleeping in his bed, completely naked save for the boxers his girlfriend would make him wear (though there were times when, due to their certain _activities_ the night before, both he and Juvia would wake up entirely naked). By the time he'd wake up, Juvia would have already finished preparing the breakfast and setting the table. This time, though, Gray had somehow woken up a lot earlier than normal, and so after performing _his_ morning rituals (which lasted much shorter than his girlfriend's), he walked up to the kitchen expecting to see Juvia in an apron, running around.

He did see Juvia in an apron, running around the kitchen, but what he didn't expect was that she was listening to music, loudly it seemed, because she didn't hear Gray coming (which she would _always_ notice under normal circumstances). A bit surprised, but also quite amused, Gray decided to hide his presence for as long as he could, in order to watch Juvia as she merrily prepared breakfast, while humming to the music.

Surprisingly, it took Juvia full ten minutes and three songs to notice that Gray was standing by the door. When she saw him, she jumped in embarrassment and almost knocked over the food she was preparing so diligently, but she managed to catch the plate just in time. Gray chuckled at her, prompting a slight pout to form on Juvia's face.

"You should pay better attention to your surroundings, Juvia.", Gray teased, with his arms crossed on his chest, and Juvia blushed but turned her head away, letting out a small _"Hmpf!"_.

"Juvia didn't hear Gray-sama coming, she was listening to music.", she said, and Gray laughed.

"Yeah, I saw that. Or should I say, I _heard_ that. What songs were you humming just now?", he asked while smirking, and Juvia froze in her spot, eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

"G-Gray-sama heard that?!", she asked, completely mortified as the color drained from her face.

"I did. It was nice. You have a pretty voice, you know.", Gray said and started walking over to Juvia, who was now beet red. He stood next to her and towered over, and Juvia let out a squeak at his proximity.

"Seriously, what songs were those? It doesn't sound like heavy metal you usually listen to.", he asked casually, still looming over Juvia as he leaned towards the shelves to grab a glass. Juvia closed her eyes and her breath got caught in her throat, which made Gray pretty satisfied. Finally, Juvia managed to squeeze out an answer through her teeth, still not opening her eyes.

"So-Soft rock and ballads. Ju-Juvia likes those kind of songs very much.", she said. Gray smirked at her cuteness and said _"Is that so?"_ before he leaned down and chastely kissed Juvia on the nose, pulling away almost immediately. Juvia's eyes snapped open in disbelief and wonder, as Gray filled up his glass with water and pretended he did nothing.

"Gray-sama… k-kissed Juvia? On the _nose_?", she said stunned, and Gray rolled his eyes in slight annoyance.

"C'mon, you make it sound like I never do those kinds of things."

"But Gray-sama _almost never_ does those kinds of things! He always waits for Juvia to act all lovey-dovey!"

Gray blushed, turning away, and Juvia processed what happened for a few more seconds, then she threw herself at Gray and, as always, sent them both to the ground (Gray gave up complaining because Juvia just couldn't stop doing that, even though he knew his back might be in a big trouble if she continued doing that too often). They lay like that on the kitchen floor, with Juvia snuggling up to Gray and Gray waiting for Juvia to calm down.

Juvia then remembered the breakfast she made and suddenly jumped off of Gray, allowing him to get up as well.

"Ah, the breakfast will get cold! Come on, Gray-sama, let's hurry up and eat! Juvia made your favorite!"

Gray was about to tell her that she shouldn't always make only his favorites, and that she should make something she favored as well, but then he saw the perfectly prepared meal, and his mouth started watering. He decided that he will eat what she so kindly made first, and then tell her how she should be more selfish.

Enough to say, when Gray told her that, Juvia started squealing in delight because _"Gray-sama is being so sweet!"_ , and Gray just chuckled at her, already used to his overly energetic girlfriend's slightly crazy reactions.


	20. Kiss on the forehead - Nalu

**A/N: So this was kinda hurried, but well. I still have a few more stories to write, and then I'm probably taking a short break or something. I'm gonna try to enjoy what's left of my summer break _outside_ (which is like, wishful thinking because I'm a total indoors type). Anyway, seriously, if I don't start going outside, my parents are gonna freak out about my health because, according to them, the reason I'm so pale/sicklish/anemic or whatever is because I don't breathe enough fresh air.**

 **Anyway. Enough of my blabbering. Please enjoy the story! :D**

Pairing: Nalu

Prompt: Kiss on the forehead

 _-_ _Excruciating pain aside, this was one of Lucy's most cherished experiences.-_

Word count: 910

* * *

"It _HURTS!_ "

"C'mon Lucy, you can do it, just a bit more!"

" _AAAARGHH!_ "

Sounds of screams were, in no way foreign to this place – after all, it _was_ a hospital, and this _was_ the department for labor. That didn't mean that every time a scream was heard the doctors and the nurses didn't feel a chill run down their spines. Oh, no, nobody could get used to such raw sounds showing in just how much pain were the soon-to-be mothers. Even now, when a young blonde woman named Lucy was giving birth, the nurses did their best to try and soothe her as the doctor did his job.

"It's alright sweetie, we're here. We're with you.", an elderly nurse said as she rubbed Lucy's left arm up an down. On her other side, Natsu was holding Lucy's hand, letting her grip it _firmly_ while he was trying to think of ways to calm his wife down. Unfortunately, he was bad at that.

"It's alright, Lucy, I mean, this can't hurt _that_ bad, right? It's just-", he started, but then Lucy gripped his hand even harder (that was going to leave a mark), looked him straight into the eyes with a death glare, and with as much strength as she could muster started _talking_ to him.

"Natsu", she said, huffing and breathing in and out, "imagine… imagine _riding a car_ … only to be thrown out of it… so you could be _run over_ by it… and then- _oh god!_ ", she screamed as another wave of pain washed over her. She took fast breaths as she kept on pushing, and her face was already completely soaked in sweat, strands of hair sticking on it. "And then imagine Erza saving you", she continued, "only to _beat you up_ from head to toe… then throw you somewhere where other people would find you… _and kick you there repeatedly_."

By the time Lucy finished her speech, Natsu's face was already drained of color, save for the small greenish hue, and his body was slightly shaking. The nurses and the doctor that were in the room together with them could only shrug and continue their jobs – Natsu could even be said to belong to the group of the lucky ones. Some of the women provided such graphic threats and speeches, by the end of it all they were scared to leave the baby with them.

As Lucy let out another cry of pain while the nurse kept repeating _"it's okay, breathe"_ , Natsu finally pulled himself together and resumed his role as a supporter.

"Okay, okay, I admit, I was an idiot. Sorry.", he said as he dried the sweat off her forehead. Honestly, seeing her in so much pain was so unbearable to Natsu, he tried to convince himself it wasn't real and he was only exaggerating things. The deathly grip she had on him and her continuous shouts proved otherwise.

Lucy was starting to cry, mumbling things like _"I can't do this anymore"_ , but she kept on going. The doctor told her that they would be done soon, and that she needed to be brave for just a few more moments. Lucy weakly nodded her head, and Natsu whispered soothing words into her ear, clutching her hand. He brushed the rouge strands of hair off her forehead and kissed her there, trying to show her that he was with her, and that everything would be okay.

After several minutes, Lucy pushed for the last time before another loud sound filled the room – this time, it was a newborn's cry. The parents couldn't stop their tears from falling as their little girl was finally brought into the world.

"She's… She's beautiful.", Natsu said with a cracking voice as he looked at his daughter for the first time. "Got her looks from her dad, no doubt about it.", he joked, but Lucy was too weak to do anything but giggle.

The nurse showed the little girl to Lucy before they took her away to get her cleaned and routinely tested. They advised Lucy to go to sleep in order to recuperate some of her energy, and she thanked them and said she would do just that. Natsu decided to stay with her until she fell asleep completely, and then he'd go see his baby once again.

…

Several hours later, Lucy and Natsu were in the hospital bed, gazing lovingly at the little human in Lucy's arms.

"You gave me quite a tough time, missy.", Lucy said softly while Natsu chuckled next to her.

"She's going to be just like me when she grows up.", he said proudly, prompting a tired sigh to come out of Lucy's mouth.

"Why do I have the feeling you're right?"

They stayed in silence, just basking in the happiness they felt. Their friends had come and seen the little girl as well – the women all cried and some of the men did too (although they would _never_ admit that). They left the family soon after, though, because they knew this was a special time for them.

"Happy got a new family member.", Natsu said absentmindedly after a while.

"He did.", Lucy agreed. Natsu suddenly leaned towards the baby, then towards Lucy, and planted a kiss on their foreheads. Lucy smiled and kissed Natsu on the cheek, and they leaned their heads on each other. Natsu whispered something.

"Thanks, Lucy."

She only nodded her head and continued to look at her daughter.


	21. Kiss on the neck & ear - Jerza

**A/N: 'Kaaay, I cheated a bit, but there's actually no rule saying you can't combine two prompts, so... Sorry. ;)**

 **Anyway, I think I have like three more stories left, and after that, I'm done with this collection! Hopefully I'll finish everything by the time I go on a trip (which is in a bit more than a week, I think?).**

 **As always, I hope you enjoy the story! :)**

Pairing: Jerza

Prompt: Kiss on the neck + kiss on the ear

 _-Mixing chocolate and chili is a bad idea. At least Jellal thinks so.-_

Word count: 754

* * *

When Jellal woke up at three in the morning after hearing excessive noise come from somewhere within the house, his only reaction was to sigh and shake his head, while a small smile was forming on his face. Getting up from the bed, he stretched a bit in order to fully awaken himself, and then he headed for the direction from which he was certain the noise was coming.

Not at all to his surprise, he found Erza roaming around in the kitchen, raiding the fridge and their shelves, making some sort of mishmash Jellal knew he didn't want to _smell_ , let alone taste. However, Erza always had a unique taste and her current state made her all the more inclined to experiment with different kinds of ingredients. Once, she mixed her favorite strawberries with tuna, honey and mayonnaise. Jellal threw up almost as soon as the strange mix touched his tongue. Erza said he didn't appreciate good food and proceeded to eat everything by herself.

Too engrossed into making her nightly snack, Erza didn't notice Jellal up until the moment he wrapped his arms around her torso and leaned his head on hers. She turned her head slightly and smiled at him, acknowledging his presence, but almost immediately returned to what she was doing. They stayed in silence like that for a few moments, just enjoying each other's company, before Jellal decided to ask the question that would probably kill his appetite for the next week.

"What are you making?"

Erza raised an eyebrow, perfectly aware of Jellal's disapproval (and disgust) towards her kitchen adventures, but decided to entertain his curiosity.

"I suddenly had a strong craving for blueberries. And chili sauce. I feel something is missing, so I'm going to add some pepper and chocolate as well.", she answered, and Jellal's face turned green from the thought of those four things mixed together, but he said nothing as Erza melted the chocolate. She smirked at his lack of answer, imagining the face he was making at the moment. Jellal finally collected himself and lowered his hands from her upper waist to her belly, gently stroking it as Erza hummed a soft melody.

"I hope the baby won't continue eating strange food when she gets out.", he said, and Erza chuckled at her husband.

"I am certain that won't happen. It's just hormones making me crave for such _hideous_ , as you would call it, food. Rest assured.", she joked as she poured the melted chocolate into the bowl full of blueberries coated in chili sauce. "Now for the pepper!", she merrily said and grabbed the container from which she sprinkled the pepper. Jellal watched in horror as Erza stirred.

"…On the other hand, I will love her no matter what. Even if she eats food that makes other people throw up."

Erza smiled and put one of her hands above Jellal's, enjoying the peaceful moment with her family that would soon grow larger. Jellal leaned his head on Erza's shoulder and inhaled the smell of her hair, then pushed it away.

"I am the happiest man alive.", he whispered into her ear, and Erza felt chills run down her spine. "It's all thanks to you.", he added, nuzzling then kissing the shell of her ear, and Erza could feel herself staring to melt.

"It's all thanks to _us_.", she said breathlessly as Jellal continued to plant kisses down her earlobe, then her neck. "You and me, and our friends as well. It's thanks to everyone, that we're this happy right now.", Erza finished as Jellal left one last kiss on her neck, then turned her around and nuzzled her nose against his.

"You're right.", he whispered. "As always, you are right."

Erza laughed at the compliment prompting Jellal to laugh as well, and then they both looked down at Erza's belly, where their precious treasure was growing, and they felt a surge of joy wash over them. They raised their gazes to each other, and without saying anything, sent a clear message to the other.

" _I love you."_

Then suddenly, Erza remembered her cuisine masterpiece and started eating it, as Jellal returned to their bedroom and told her he would be waiting for her there, unwilling to sit back and watch her eat the _horrendous_ creation she made.

Years later, when their not-so-little-anymore girl told them that one of her favorite foods were sweets and spicy food, Jellal would silently lament the fact that his little princess adored the food he couldn't stand.


	22. Shy kiss - Gajevy

**A/N: I'm so glad (and relieved) to say that I finished writing all of the stories for the prompts! I'm publishing the last two tomorrow and the day after, and after that, this "project" or whatever of mine will officially be over! Yay!**

 **As for this story, it's my first time writing Gajevy, so please be gentle. ;) Kidding. :D The story is set during the beginning of those two's council careers. I hope you like the story!**

Pairing: Gajevy

Prompt: Shy kiss

 _-_ _Levy's plan backfired, and now she was the one who had to suffer double embarrassment.-_

Word count: 1037

* * *

"Damn those geezers, makin' us do stuff like this. We ain't their gofers!", Gajeel grumbled as he and Levy returned from their boss' office.

"Well, we _have_ been here for only three weeks, so we can't do pretty much else, can we?", Levy reasoned, though she disliked the idea of being someone's errand boy just as much as Gajeel did. She was only less vocal, knowing that complaining wouldn't do them any good.

"Who cares, I wanna go bust people!", he said, pumping his fist in the air, and Levy could only sigh and shake her head.

"Leaving that aside, where is Lily?", she asked. The Exceed disappeared somewhere after breakfast and they haven't seen him since.

"That old man, what's-his-name, ordered Lily to go move some stuff from the storage. Freakin' jerk, making my cat do stupid things like that!", Gajeel answered and complained once again, more passionately this time, and Levy knew that she had to find a way to distract his thoughts before he went on a rampage and put them all in danger. Sometimes, she wondered why in the world did Gajeel decide to join the council. However, she decided it was just one of many mysteries surrounding him.

"Yes, yes, I understand your frustrations, but we have a job to do as well, so let it go, please.", she said while smiling, and Gajeel muttered something under his breath before he sighed and started walking towards their destination.

"Hurry up, Shrimp, we don't have the whole damn day!", he shouted to Levy, and she barely stopped herself from punching him.

The destination, as it turned out, was an old archive slash library of the council, and as soon as they stepped inside, Levy's eyes started shining and she was grinning from ear to ear – to say she was happy would be an understatement. Gajeel stood next to her, unimpressed, chewing on an iron screw he found somewhere. Levy tried to absorb everything about the old building, each and every corner covered in books and old documents. She sighed dreamily.

"Ah, this is heaven."

While she was busy admiring the enormous collection of books, Gajeel walked over to the man standing next to the first bookshelf (which Levy didn't even notice), and _kindly_ asked him what their job was. The man answered, with a trembling voice, that because the building was old and damaged, it needed renovating, so the books needed to be listed, and then carried to other buildings, where they would sit until the renovation was finished. Gajeel grumpily thanked the man and marched over to Levy, who was still daydreaming.

"Oy, Shrimp, wake up. I swear, you're worse than Rain Woman when she daydreams about Stripper.", he joked, making Levy pout and cross her arms.

"I see no reason why we shouldn't think about the things we love. Also, don't you think it's time you stopped calling us by nicknames?", she said, hoping that he would listen to her and drop the nicknames like "Shrimp" and "Shorty". She'd much rather be called by her given name. Unfortunately, Gajeel seemed to ignore her request.

"Whatever. We need to start working, _Shrimp_."

...

Several hours and many curses from Gajeel's side later, the two were finished. A few people came to help them, so they were done much earlier, and both Levy and Gajeel were glad for that.

"I swear, if they make me do somethin' like this again, I'm gonna kill them!", Gajeel said, absolutely pissed. Sitting next to him, Levy drank her water in order to refresh herself. When she was finished, Gajeel made a sign with his hand that he wanted water too, and Levy, with red cheeks, handed the bottle over to him.

"Oh, come on, Gajeel! It wasn't that bad! In fact, I had a lot of fun!", she said, and Gajeel narrowed his eyes at her.

"'S 'cause you were reading books half the time. You were slackin' off, and I had to do your part!", he accused her, after he finished drinking water, and Levy avoided his eyes, sweating a bit.

"I-I wasn't _that_ bad…", she weakly tried to defend herself, but the truth was, she _did_ spend a lot of time scanning the books. She couldn't help it, though, those were rare pieces and she had the honor of being so near them! The temptation was too big and she just… caved in.

Levy sighed, understanding that she was wrong, and she turned around, facing Gajeel and bowed her head. Gajeel was a bit taken aback by her sudden behavior, but he waited for an explanation. The explanation came in the form of an apology.

"You are right. I'm sorry. I should have paid more attention to our job, than the books themselves.", she apologized, feeling a bit embarrassed, and Gajeel grinned in triumph.

"Geehee. Of course I was right. Good job apologizing, Shrimp.", he said while patting her on the head, which made Levy even more embarrassed and uncomfortable. "Now what should I make you do because of this…", Gajeel said, and in that moment, Levy got an idea on how to get her revenge and embarrass him as well. While Gajeel was busy stroking his chin and thinking, Levy leaned towards him, and placed a small kiss on his cheek.

Gajeel turned towards Levy, startled and confused, and Levy felt her cheeks redden.

"What was that for?", he asked, making Levy shift in her seat.

"That, uh, was a _"thank you"_ , uh, I guess…", she answered, with her voice getting quieter with each word, and when Gajeel didn't say anything but continued to stare at her, she couldn't take it anymore, and she blurted out an _"I have to go!"_ before she ran out, leaving Gajeel, who was still confused, behind. Her plan backfired on her, and instead of making Gajeel embarrassed, she hammered another nail in her coffin.

Gajeel sat there for a few more moments, with a blank expression on his face, before his cheeks started getting a red hue and he made an embarrassed grimace.

"One of those books must've hit her in the head.", he said, and got up so he could look for Lily. While hopefully avoiding Levy.


	23. Kiss on the back - Gruvia

**A/N: Boy, this prompt gave me _headaches._ I didn't know what to write up until the very last moments, when and idea came to me and I was just like, _let's try it_. Tried I did, and this is what came out. So, you know, as I always, always do, I hope you enjoy the story! :)**

 **P.S.: The summary was taken from the song Scars by Papa Roach.**

Pairing: Gruvia

Prompt: Kiss on the back

 _-_ _"And my scars remind me, that the past is real."-_

Word count: 1246

* * *

After fighting off the enemies and finishing their mission, Juvia and Gray found a secluded place in the woods so they could rest and tend to their wounds. As Juvia's body could turn into water, she had only a several scratches and a small bruise here and there, but nothing serious. Gray, however, was covered in cuts from head to toe, with the most prominent cut being on his back. Even though he kept saying he was fine, Juvia would take none of it, and she insisted that she cleans his wounds. After only a short bantering (as both were very tired), Gray gave in and let Juvia tend to him, while he rests.

He sat on a nearby log and stretched his legs. Juvia towered over him, cleaning his face first. She then proceeded to clean his chest while a blush bloomed on her face, and she started feeling dizzy. Gray noticed this but said nothing, as she still hadn't reached the state of intense fangirling, from which he would have to wake her up.

Pouring disinfectant over the cloth (Juvia always went to missions with Gray prepared – god forbid something bad happened to him), Juvia once again applied it over Gray's wounds, this time prompting a hiss from Gray. The hiss startled her and she almost dropped the cloth from her hands, but Juvia stopped herself just in time. Her heart was beating loudly as she traced the cut on his stomach, more carefully this time, as to not cause him discomfort. When she finished the front side, she walked behind him and crouched in front of his back, where a big cut was. She frowned, but said nothing as she tended to the smaller wounds first.

Juvia was awfully quiet and Gray noticed this strange change in her behavior, but he understood why she acted that way. The mission was very tiring, both physically and emotionally. Their enemy had the ability to make them remember their worst fears, most painful memories and darkest nightmares. Gray felt so helpless – with every cut left on his skin he felt a cut reopen in his soul, reminding him of all the losses he suffered. He barely controlled himself enough to push those thoughts away for later. That later turned out to be now, and Gray let his mind roam to the darkest corners of his conscience, wallowing in self-hatred. He almost, almost lost himself to the sadness and started crying, but right in that moment, Juvia started cleaning the biggest cut and Gray was pulled back by the painful sensation on his skin. He hissed loudly and cursed, making Juvia stop and frantically apologize.

"J-Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama! She will try to be more careful!", she said as she soothed the wound with cold water, lessening the pain. Gray just grunted a _"'S fine"_ while thanking her internally, because he didn't want to deal with the pain his soul was carrying at the moment.

Juvia quietly returned to her work, but she could no longer suppress the unwelcome thoughts and emotions as she thought back to the memories their enemy awakened. Blood, blood, blood everywhere around her, seeping into the dirty soil and coloring it dark red. The one who saved her, the one she loved the most lay in front of her, dead, as two of their friends wept behind her. And she, she just stood there, wide eyed with tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

The pain she felt couldn't be compared to any physical pain she had ever experienced.

Was it a nightmare? Or a memory of some sort?

Whatever it was it left her scarred, and she never wanted to see something like that again. That's why, looking at Gray, all covered in cuts and bruises like this, made her heart clench painfully in fear. His skin was marred by many marks.

So, so many scars.

She didn't even realize she had said it out loud until Gray chuckled bitterly, startling her out of her day time nightmares. He turned his head slightly towards her, looking at her with those deep, dark eyes that hold so many secrets, so many hidden worlds, and worst of all, so much pain and sorrow. Sometimes she felt as if that sorrow was the reason she was so drawn to them – because the sadness is no stranger to her.

"I don't care where I get hurt, as long as my injuries are visible.", he said with a heavy voice. "Scars on the skin mean nothing to me. In fact, they are the proof that I fought, and so, they are my medals of honor.", he tried to joke, but even he could see how fake he sounded. His throat constricted and he found difficulty in swallowing, but he still tried to act tough. He turned away from Juvia and lowered his head.

Juvia didn't move for a few moments, just staring at Gray's back and clutching the cloth in her hands. Then she suddenly leaned towards him, and with her next move startled Gray.

She gently caressed the edge of the cut with her fingers and then planted a soft kiss on it. Gray let out a weird sound and whipped his head towards Juvia, beet red. She was blushing as well, but her eyes were strong and her lips quirked into a small smile. She took one of Gray's hands while he was still in shock and laced it with her own.

"Gray-sama is right.", she said quietly, and by the look on Gray's face she could tell he was confused. "Juvia means, these scars, they really are medals of honor.", she explained, and Gray's face relaxed a bit. Juvia experimentally caressed the back of his hand with her thumb, and when she saw he had no reaction, she continued more boldly.

"Each and every cut and bruise Gray-sama gained while fighting is a proof of Gray-sama's hard work, of his achievements. Each one has its own story. That's why, they are medals of honor. Because these scars will remind Gray-sama of the past every day, but they will also remind him how much stronger he grew over the time.", she finished her story, and when she raised her head to look at Gray, only to find him completely silent and simply staring at her, she turned bright red and ducked her head immediately, avoiding Gray's eyes.

"Uh, that is, um, only what Juvia thinks, so, uh, G-Gray-sama shouldn't take it too seriously…", she said, but then Gray started chuckling, and that chuckle turned into a full out laughter, and Juvia started pouting, hurt by his reaction.

"Gray-sama didn't have to laugh at Juvia, though…", she complained, but then Gray shook his head and tried to stop laughing. When he finally managed to do so, he looked at Juvia with shining eyes, as if a great burden was lifted of his back. He reached out and ruffled her hair, completely surprising Juvia, and making steam come out of her ears.

"Thanks.", he said simply, while still wearing a smile, and whatever it was that kept Juvia from going into her daydream mode disappeared, and suddenly, Gray could see her eyes glaze over and he realized she went to her la-la land again. He groaned, cursing under his breath, and started shaking Juvia, trying to bring her back to the reality.

Not once did he try to pry off the hand that was still holding his.


	24. French kiss - Jerza

**A/N: Aaand, we've come to the end. This is the last story for the kiss prompts, that's right, _I did it_. I finished everything, and boy, it feels great. **

**I started this with Jerza, I'm ending it with Jerza. :D This time, those two dorks are hormonal teenagers in the modern world! Yay! (In other words, yes, this is an AU.)**

 **Thank you for reading these stories! If you don't mind, I'd like you to tell me which story you liked the best and why. :)**

 **Now, with this, this story compilation is officially _completed_! Till the next time, bye! :D**

Pairing: Jerza

Prompt: French kiss

 _-"We're together, as we always were, and I think it's time for us to reveal our true feelings."-_

Word count: 1171

* * *

The almost-empty classroom was filled with sounds of heavy breathing and panting, disturbing the usual silence that occurred after the school was over. In the back corner near the window, two teenagers were engaged in a heated kissing session. The girl's scarlet hair was messed up and her cheeks were red, but not as red as the boy's – his were a deep crimson color that wouldn't subdue. When looked at closely, it was obvious that the girl was the one initiating the "attacks" while the boy was desperately trying to run away, but in vain as even his own mind started to betray him. It was a sight to behold – it couldn't be clearer that currently, the boy was not only fighting the girl, but he was also fighting _himself_.

Using the fact that they both ran out of air as an opportunity, Jellal stumbled away from Erza, blushing profusely. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand, and stared at the girl in front of him wide-eyed. Their little _activity_ from before left her panting heavily, with glazed-over eyes and bloody red lips caused by the friction. She looked like Jellal's deepest, darkest desires, and for that reason he felt he needed to understand what in the world had just happened.

Unfortunately, as he was currently very flustered and confused, his mind seemed to stop functioning.

"Wha-, why-, that is, I mean, uh, um…", he lamely tried, but just couldn't form a coherent sentence. Erza chuckled at his reaction, almost back at her usual state.

"Well, I must say I'm a bit disappointed that you've reacted precisely as I predicted you would. Nevertheless, I was prepared for this.", she said with a shy smile on her still red face, and a hand up against her hair – a habit that appeared when she was nervous.

Jellal still seemed too worked up to let his brain cells unfreeze, so Erza patiently waited for a few minutes for him to calm down. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity for her and only a second for him, Jellal took a deep breath and cooled down enough to at least communicate more or less properly.

"So, uh… What was that?", he asked in a simplest way possible, because he was not in the state that allowed him to ask a more complex question. Erza laughed at him, looking out of the window at the bleeding sky outside.

"That… was my declaration."

"…Of what?"

Erza once again laughed and Jellal felt a bit hurt, because it seemed as if she was mocking him. Luckily, she didn't laugh for too long, and with a soft gaze she looked at Jellal while reaching for his tie and pulling him closer to her. Jellal's breath got caught in his throat, and he tried to chase away the excitement forming inside of him that made his heart drum painfully against his ribcage, but in vain. Erza leaned her other hand onto his chest and smiled proudly at the effect she had on Jellal. Though her heart was far from silent as well.

"I want to change. Myself. Us. Our status quo. I want to move forward and this was my way of showing that.", she answered honestly, and Jellal looked at her in awe as she fiddled with his tie and refused to look back into his eyes. However, curiosity got the best of her as she nervously peered through her lashes at her beloved one's face. What she saw was another thing she expected, but it didn't mean it hurt any less.

Jellal's eyes were shut tight, his jaw was clenched and his brows were forming a frown. He raised his arms and placed them atop Erza's, trying to pull them away, but she wouldn't budge.

"Erza…", he protested, tightening his grip a bit, but Erza still refused to back down.

"No. I've had enough of you running away. What happened those years ago wasn't your fault and it's time you stopped blaming yourself for that."

"But because of me you were hurt and-"

"-I'm still here, aren't I? And you're here with me. We're together, as we always were, and I think it's time for us to reveal our true feelings.", Erza said with a strong conviction. "Everybody around us knows and they are constantly waiting for the day we tell them we're a couple, so don't you think we've made them wait long enough? Don't you think we've made _us_ wait long enough?"

Jellal didn't respond anything as he mulled over his thoughts and everything Erza had just said. She was right – they both felt more than friendship towards each other and that much was obvious. Their friends also knew that, and teased them about it all the time. Frankly speaking, there was nothing Jellal wanted more than to have Erza in his arms, but the question remained – did he deserve her? Because of him, she went through a tough period and Jellal felt his guilt eat away at him every time he remembered it. No matter how much she or their friends assured him that it was okay, he didn't feel it was okay _at all_. He'd hurt her, he had hurt her _so much_ , so how could he, of all people, be granted the permission to protect her?

 _Why_ would he be?

Even so, she wanted him, no one else but _him_ , and that made him feel so selfishly proud. He _wanted_ to be granted the permission to protect her, he wanted to be there for her, always, and he wanted her to be there for him, also. He needed her like no one else, but he knew she didn't need anyone, especially not him.

But, she wanted him. And god, who was he to deny her?

At the moment his mind felt the clearest it had ever been, he pulled Erza into his embrace and kissed her passionately, resuming their action from before. She grabbed tightly onto his hair and shirt, clutching the material and the soft tresses in her hands. He held her face, strongly but delicately, and they melted into each other, releasing their pent-up feelings and frustrations.

Finally, after so long, they were where they were supposed to be, in each other's arms, holding on tightly. Jellal accepted his imminent fate, to fall into her arms, and Erza decided she would never let him escape her again, not with excuses as pathetic as he had.

Pulling away, they stared into the other's eyes, smiling from the bottom of their hearts. Jellal kissed Erza's forehead then leaned his forehead on it, and for the next few moments, they enjoyed their peace like that.

"…So, who do you think won the bet?", Erza asked all of a sudden, and Jellal blinked in confusion.

"Wait… They had a bet on us?! Seriously?!"

Erza just laughed out loud and hugged her boyfriend once again, and Jellal had no other choice but to join her in her laughter as he held her close.


End file.
